Light God Part two
by SGsVamp
Summary: With Daniel "dead" and their infant son still missing, some dramatic changes occur at the SGC. Second part of the 'light god saga' plz read part one first. Daniel/OC
1. Chapter 1 Twisted Threads

**Chapter 1 ~ Twisted Threads. **

"Sam?"

The silken and timid voice, snapped the recently promoted Colonel out of her calculations. She glanced up to find Leesia standing, almost nervously, at the threshold to her lab. She was shifting hesitantly, from foot to foot, and Sam had to admit to herself that the former Ancient looked terrible. Her dark eyes were hooded, red rimmed and underlined with dark circles, clearly caused by too much crying and not enough sleep. In the three weeks since Daniel's 'death' she had gone through a dramatic drop in weight, which was only emphasised by the large size of Daniel's shirt, that she now almost constantly wore, on her slight frame. To start with Sam had simply put it down to the fact that she was just used to seeing her pregnant, but now it had become too obvious to be denied.

Sam made a mental note to ensure that she had something decent to eat today. Daniel wouldn't have wanted to see his wife go downhill like this.

She was standing with her shoulders hunched forwards, as if trying to fold in on herself and disappear. In one arm she carried an armful of ancient tablets, identical to the one Daniel had pointed out as important when he had the Ancient knowledge in his mind. With her free hand, she anxiously fiddled with the chain around her neck that housed Daniel's wedding ring.

"Leesia, you okay?" Sam asked softly, immediately regretting her choice of greeting, the second the words passed her lips. Of course, she wasn't okay; you only had to look at her to see that.

Gently, Leesia shook her head, but offered a small smile in gratitude for the concern. "May I work in here?" she asked. "I do not wish to be alone."

"Of course." Sam readily agreed, happy to help in any way she could and she began clearing a space on her bench for Leesia to work.

With another small smile in appreciation, Leesia slid onto one of the raised stools and set about carefully laying the many tablets, face up, across the surface of the workbench.

"I take it these are the other ones sent over from area 51." Sam inquired, glancing briefly over each of the tablets. She recognized the chevron symbols that dotted the framed edges, but the rest of the Ancient symbols were a mystery to her.

"This is some of them." Leesia told her.

Sam quickly did a mental tally of the tablets in front of them. There were eleven there. "How many are there?"

"I stopped counting after the two-hundredth." Leesia told her, absentmindedly thumbing over the surface of one of the tablets.

"Two hundred?" Sam repeated, her eyes widening.

"Plus." she said with a nod.

"Holly Hannah. I had no idea there were that many…Daniel's gonna need a bigger office." Sam added, in a gentle teasing tone, hoping to lighten her friend's mood.

However, Leesia only managed to give her a polite smile in return.

After a few silent seconds Sam asked, "Having any luck?" trying to keep the conversation from dying.

"Unfortunately not." Leesia replied. "To be truthful, I cannot comprehend how these can be of any importance, they all read like gibberish."

"You've translated them all?" Sam gawped in amazement, suddenly realising what had taken up all of Leesia's time, when she clearly hadn't been eating or sleeping.

"Repeatedly." Leesia said wearily, her tone touched with exasperation. "Each one is just as intangible as the next."

"Maybe you should get some rest and look at it afresh tomorrow." Sam suggested, but even before she finished the sentence Leesia was shaking her head.

"I have to get this done," she said in desperate resolve. "I just have to."

"You could at least get something to eat."

Again, Leesia shook her head. "I can't let anything he done be in vein. He said this was important. I have to figure it out. I just have to." Her words began tumbling out. "What if this is how to get him back? What if this is how to find our baby? What if I never find either of them because I could not figure out what this is? What if-"

"Leesia, Leesia." Sam interrupted, placing a gentle hand on her friends arm and ending her panicked ramble. "We don't know any of that. Daniel could have meant to do this himself. Think how clearly he made the instructions for the chair down in Antarctica. If this is that crucial, then he would have made sure you had every thing you needed."

Leesia took a deep quivering breath, in attempt to dull down her rising panic. The truth of Sam's words, as well as her reassuring touch, was some small comfort to her, but it couldn't resolve the bulk of her worry.

"He should have returned by now," she said, so quietly Sam nearly missed it.

"He said he would be back, there's no reason to think otherwise." Sam said trying to give her voice all the confidence that she didn't truly feel. She had been thinking the same thing herself.

Leesia head dropped sadly, her hand instantly returning to the chain around her neck, rolling the ring around her fingers. "I am afraid there is a chance that that may not be the case." The way her voice trembled as she spoke told Sam that there was far more than simple fear there.

The former Ascended kept her head down as she spoke, unwilling to meet Sam's eyes as she explained. "When I was being tried by the Others, for freeing Daniel and therefore breaking their laws on interference, they attempted to place blame for my actions onto Daniel."

"Why?"

"They claimed that I had been corrupted by his views because we were married."

"That's preposterous. Just because you choice to marry someone doesn't mean you have to take on his views. You're still your own person."

"I agree. I did not _have _to change, but I did when I met him. His mind and heart was so good and pure, that I could not help but be influenced by it. He made me want to be a better person. I don't remember much of who I was before I met him, but I do know that my life change so completely that day."

"He did say that he felt there were some pretty big differences of opinions."

Leesia nodded. "And that is an understatement. He was so passionately determined to make the Others see that every life counted, no matter what plane of existence they were from." She smiled as the memory played across her mind. "It was this that I fell in love with."

"So it wasn't his looks then?" Sam said. Her teasing tone back this time accompanied with a matching smile.

"No, it was his mind, his spirit that I fell for the instant we met. The fact that it is housed in a body that I find very visually pleasing is merely an added bonus. He opened my eyes, but it was because of this that they held Daniel somewhat accountable for my actions."

"And you think that will be the case now?"

Leesia sighed slowly. "I am concerned that it may be. At the time, I was able to draw light to the fact that Daniel had already served his sentence and as such all crimes are pardoned. I do not know how his re-ascending will affect their views on his condemnation, but I am terrified that he may be punished for my crimes…If anything happens to him it will be my fault."

"Was Daniel aware of any of this?"

Leesia shrugged, shaking her head. "I cannot be certain, however he certainly knows how strictly they take their laws and those who break them. So, he could have foreseen the potential."

"Knowing Daniel, _if_ it came to that, he could find a loophole. And it'll be one we'd never have considered."

"He does have his own way of thinking." Leesia agreed with a thoughtful nod.

"So stop worrying." Sam said, wishing she could take her own advice. But, if she was honest with herself, she was just as scared for her friend as his wife was. Jack and Teal'c had both taken a more relaxed attitude. Insisting that Daniel would be back as soon as it was time and at first, Sam had been reassured by their certainty. They had both been visited by Daniel the last time he had joined the ranks of the ascended, whereas she had not, so, because of this, she had trusted their judgement. However, the more worried Leesia had become, the more Sam had also. Logically speaking Leesia - as a former ascended herself - had the most experience in these matters, so if she was concerned then there had to be reason.

Sam shook her head, trying to rid herself of the troubling thoughts. She forced a smile onto her face. "Come on, I'm starving. Let's go get some lunch," she said in a way that told Leesia that she wasn't going to be given a choice in the matter.

"Sam, may I ask you something?" Leesia said as she stepped out into the quiet hall, looking around almost hesitantly.

"Of course."

Leesia glanced back over her shoulder, to see if anyone was following them. "It is about Teal'c." she said quietly.

"Ah." Sam said knowingly, as they reached the elevator. She had been wondering how long it would take the other woman to notice. Frankly, she had expected it to be sooner, but then again, Leesia did have other things on her mind. "You want to know why he's been keeping close to you? It's nothing to worry about, it's a Jaffa thing."

Leesia looked up at the taller woman, her head tilted questionable. "Stalking is a Jaffa thing?"

"No." Sam laughed. "While we were on P3X-439-" Seeing Leesia brow furrow in confusion over the planets assigned title, she added. "-Where we found the repository. Daniel asked him to keep an eye on you."

The elevator doors slid open, and after Leesia glanced up and down the corridor, looking for the man in question, the women made their way towards the mess hall.

"That was three weeks ago." Leesia pointed out. "We have been to two other planets since then and returned home safely, surely he cannot still hold Daniel's request relevant."

Sam glance down at her, the look in her eyes clearly stating 'believe me, he can'. "I think you're under estimating Teal'c. You're just going to have to get used to the fact that…" She paused, not wanting to say 'until Daniel gets back' "…For a while you're going to have your very own Jaffa bodyguard."

"Babysitter, would be more accurate a description." Leesia grumbled in a very child-like manner, as the pair of them pushed opening the swing door to the refectory. They each grabbed a tray and made their way to the counter.

"If it's bothering you, you could talk to him." Sam suggested loading a glass of blue jell-o onto her tray. She doubted it would make any difference to Teal'c resolve, but there was a chance. It all would depend on how strongly he had taken Daniel request. Did he see it as a familiarity, or did he see it as the last plea of a trusted friend and colleague, made to him before he sacrificed himself.

Leesia shook her head. "No, it is not bothering me. In fact I find his near constant presence," she chose her words carefully. "… Reassuring…most of the time. However, I do not wish to be a burden to him. He must have something better things to do with his time."

Sam knew Teal'c wouldn't see watching her as a burden, more than likely he saw it as a duty to a fallen comrade. A duty he was not likely to relinquish. "So, how did you escape?"

"I didn't." she smiled. "He left to take his tretonin. I doubt it will long before he catches up with me."

Sure enough, before Leesia had taken her first bite, the mess doors swung back open revealing the large mass of a frowning Teal'c.

…

Light.

Nothing but welcoming pale yellow hue. Vibrant brightness, soothing in its purity, warming in its ambience.

Daniel tried to open his eyes, but nothing changed. All that registered in his vision was the light that surrounded him, enveloping him completely.

After trying repeatedly and achieving nothing for his troubles, he figured that either his eyes wouldn't open, or they already were and there was simply nothing to see. There was no way to tell which version was true. He tried to sit up, but had as much luck with his body as he had with his eyes.

There was nothing but the bright light and a heavy numbness that surrounded him. No breath. No weight. No…anything, except a tranquil peace and a presence that told him silently that he was not alone in his personal void.

"Where am I?" he asked, not knowing to whom he was speaking, but somehow knowing he could be heard. "Is this heaven?"

"_You may call it what you wish."_

He knew that voice, carried with the same whisper through his head as he remembered Leesia's voice had before she had descended. However, this voice, although familiar, soft and feminine, had none of Leesia's silk.

"Oma." he said knowingly, trying to nod his head, but found that wouldn't cooperate either. "I would say it's good to see you." he chuckled. "But I seem to be having some problems in that department."

He could hear the smile when she spoke again. _"Honesty can be seen easier in the heart then it can with the eye."_

"Okay," he said dragging the word into three syllables. That told him exactly nothing! He went back to repeat his original question. "Where am I?"

"_Nowhere, everywhere. You can only be where you are."_

"Right," he sighed internally, and if he had been able to roll his eyes in irritation, he would have. "I suppose it would be too much to ask for a straight answer for once?"

"_You died. Your body became energy and is currently realigning itself…Is that straight enough for you?"_

"Pretty much." he said in a tone of surprise. He honestly hadn't expected a clear answer. He decided to see how far he could push his luck. "Why don't I remember that?"

"_The mind and body are one. The mind cannot exist without the body, nor the body without the mind. It will come back."_

"So, I'm Ascended again?"

"_Not yet, but it is the direction you are headed."_

"How long is this going to take?"Daniel asked. He was not enjoying feeling like he was trapped inside his own head one iota.

"_How deep is the river if you cannot see the bottom?"_

"Great, back to riddles."Daniel grumbled.

"_Time has no meaning here. The path to Enlightenment is as long as it needs to be."_

"So, what have I missed?" he asked with a sigh, disposing himself for a long wait.

"_Your friends and wife destroyed Anubis' fleet, then travelled to Tararus in search of your son. However, they found the planet has been deserted."_

"He wasn't there?"

"_No."_

"Why is it never easy?" Daniel thought, the words sounding just as loudly around him as if he had spoken them aloud. He had presumed that destroying Anubis's fleet and his current physical presence would buy Leesia and the others enough time to get their son. He hadn't considered the possibility that their son wouldn't be there when the rescue came.

"So where is he?" he asked Oma, his question coming out more aggressive than he had intended it to, but he was getting too frustrated to care right now.

"_I don't know?"_

"You don't know!" Daniel repeated loudly, unable to believe that was possible.

"_Being ascended doesn't make you all-knowing, Daniel. You know that."_

"I know. However, I assumed that the half Ancient child of two former ascended would be on your radar."

"_He was," _Oma agreed, _"but we lost track of him a while ago."_

He wanted to grind his teeth, or clench his fist, do anything to physically shift his frustration from him. Not able to, he tried to calm himself and asked. "How does someone like Anubis ascend?"

"_It is a long story."_

"Well, apparently I've got time."

…

"Oy." Jack let out an exhausted sounding sigh and dropped the stack of files he had been carrying onto the workbench, so he could rub his hands over his face.

Sam, Teal'c and Leesia, who had gathered in Sam's lab, glanced at each other curiously, but it was Sam that voiced the question they were all thinking. "Problems, sir?"

"Uh, yeah." Jack snapped, his tone dripping with frustration.

"May we be of any assistance?" Teal'c asked.

"I was _so_ hoping you would say that. Need a new team member." Jack gestured to the pile. "Pick one."

"And no 'enie meanie's'," he added as the three of them reached for the files. "Apparently it's frowned upon."

"Pressure from the Russians?" Sam inquired knowingly.

"Yeah," Jack sighed, "You know, it wouldn't be so bad if Daniel was back already," he continued, with an irritated yet casual tone, that made it sound as if Daniel had merely popped out for a second and was running late getting back. "But we can't have a two person team and I'll have a Russian on SG-1 over my rotting corpse."

Leesia looked up from perusing the files, her head tilted questionably. "I do not understand. Why would it be bad to have a Russian on the team?" her eyes turned up to Jack seeking answers.

The newly appointed General glanced back and forth to the two remaining members of his flagship team. They both stared back, their expressions clearly telling him that he was going to get no help there.

"Because they've got their priorities all wrong," he explained. "They don't care who joins SG-1, as long as they're from Russia. Whoever joins the team should be based on what they can bring aboard, not solely on where they're from."

"So they have been disallowed due to their reasoning?" Leesia asked.

"Exactly." Jack agreed. "I've narrowed it down to these guys, who I'd find…" he paused searching for the right word.

"Appropriate?" Sam suggested.

"Nope."

"Honourable?" Teal'c tried.

"No…"

"Worthy?" Leesia offered.

"…Tolerable." Jack settled on with a nod.

Teal'c thumbed through the files, reading each name. "Would Leesia Jackson not be a suitable replacement?" he asked Jack when he did not find her name on any of the files.

Leesia's head shot up, eyes wide. "Oh no, I-I could not I…I do not possess the courage that would be required."

"You are incorrect." Teal'c told her firmly. "You have proven yourself to be loyal, trustworthy, as well as brave in the face of danger. And your knowledge of the Ancients and ability to manipulate the technologies around you could prove most useful against our enemies. You possess the heart of a warrior Leesia Jackson and should not doubt your strength."

"Teal'c, I am flattered, really I am, but you are wrong."

"No he's not." Jack and Sam said in unison.

"You made the short list Sparky." Jack told her. "I only vetoed you because you didn't show an interest. Should you want it, the position's yours." He held his hand out, offering it to her, as if the job role sat on his upturned palm.

She stared in surprised shock at all three of them, one at a time. They stared back at her, expectantly.

"Accompanying you all is one thing, but having the responsibility of being a team member is far more. I do not believe I am ready for that."

…

The cool, crystalline wave lazily rolled up the beach, raking the top layer of sand back and leaving a dusting of silt in it wake. Daniel stood, shin deep in the undulating waters with his arms wrapped around his waist. Although the waves splashed against him, his cream pants remained dry. He stared out across the ocean, watching as the first of the three sun began to set on the horizon and tried to process all that he had learned, which he had to admit, wasn't a lot to go on.

It had been Oma who had been fooled into helping Anubis to ascend. He was starting to understand why the Others objected to her interference as deeply as they did. It was hard to imagine a benevolent being such as Oma, making such a critical error in judgement. There had to be more to the story.

"I know this place," he murmured absently to himself.

"You should, you brought us here." Oma said from her position lounged out on the beach behind him, her legs out in front of her, crossed at the ankle.

"Malgena." he said suddenly, spinning to face her. "This is where I married Leesia the first time."

She smiled in answer.

He padded up the beach towards her, marvelling at how his bare feet didn't leave a single imprint in the sand, even though he felt every grain. He dropped himself down to sit alongside her, brought his knees up and rested his loosely folded arms across their summits.

"Look, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but if I couldn't follow the rules the last time why give me ascension again?"

"I have given nothing; I am merely here to welcome you."

"Enlighten me." Daniel said firmly, with a fortitude that could not be denied.

"You died with the knowledge of the Ancients within your mind; you did not require my assistance with your ascension. You were able to achieve that all on your own."

"I did?" The memory flittered to the front of his mind. A terrible pain burning through his skull. Trying, to push aside the brain-splitting agony, he had concentrated on one thought: Ascension. Willing his thoughts, spirit and soul to abandon his dying body. Feeling each and every one of his cells combust with bright, hot energy. He had risen, grazing his 'hand' across Leesia cheek as he did, to the next level of consciousness. "I did." he repeated knowingly. "So I can go back?"

"If you should you choose to return to your former existence, there is nothing stopping you."

"What do you mean 'if'?" Daniel argued. "I got the impression that I wasn't the most welcomed of newcomers the last time around. There's just one thing I have to do first; find my son. And if I'm gonna have any hope of doing that, then I have to find out everything I can. How did Anubis trick you?"

"You of all people do not want to know."

"Yeah, actually I do."

"You will not like what you hear." she warned.

"I get that... But, I still want to know." he said adamantly.

Oma's head dropped as she began her tail. "He must have found some old, Ancient research on ascension. He used the information he gained and began experimenting on humans, manipulating their evolution in his attempt to observe an ascension for himself. He was never successful and came to the belief that it was due to humans not being advanced enough."

"That's the Goa'uld arrogance for ya," Daniel said dryly.

"You understand too well."

"Had a bit of experience."

"Believing the Goa'uld to be far superior, he turned his research onto his own kind."

"But, ascension requires someone to be pure of spirit. It could never be achieved by someone who's spent years having their soul manipulated in a sarcophagus." Daniel argued.

"As he soon discovered." Oma agreed, with a small nod.

"DAN'YEL!"

The excited male voice interrupted their conversation and caused Daniel to spin around to find its origin. "Skaara?" he gasped in shock, as he saw who it was that was sprinting over the dunes towards them.

"I did not think to be seeing you again," the young Abydonian cried happily, as he embraced his brother-in-law.

…

Sam added 'Maj. John Sheppard' to her mental list of approved replacements and reached for the next file. She couldn't help but notice that every one of the candidates Jack had chosen all fit the same criteria; military, Air Force, mostly pilots. There was not one Doctor in the pile, or anyone with any knowledge of any other cultures or languages. When she had first met Jack, she would have assumed that this fact was due to his intense dislike of scientist, but now she knew better. Jack was simply stubbornly unwilling to except the possibility that Daniel might not come back. Jack was looking for a replacement for himself within SG-1, no one else. The mission report was further proof of that. Despite the fact that all four of them had witnessed Daniel's death, Jack had pulled rank and insisted that he be written down as M.I.A and not K.I.A.

"I believe this man would be appropriate." Leesia said, turning the file she was reading upside down and sliding it across the workbench towards the other so they could see more clearly. "He has the same honest heroism in his eyes that I have witnessed in all of you."

"You can't go by their looks you have to read their file." Sam said glancing at the file in question. She had approved of this one when she had looked through it, but she couldn't help but wonder if the reason for the former Ancients choice was based on the fact that this man bore a noticeable similarity to Daniel. He didn't ware glasses and the hair was a little shorter, but the resemblance was defiantly there.

"I have already read all the files." Leesia said, stunning Sam. She had seen her glance through the files and been told by Daniel how fast she was able to read, but she had never seen it for herself. "However, you cannot know who a person is from someone else's evaluation of them."

"How then are we to know who is right, without seeing them in action?" Teal'c inquired.

"We have seen him in action." Sam said, pointing out the passage she was referring to, to Teal'c. "He was the pilot leading the 302's down in Antarctica."

"Then he has done us a great service. For without their assistance, our mission could have failed."

"His service record is impeccable." Sam said.

"Does this mean we have found someone worthy to be your new member?" Leesia asked, looking back and forth between them hopefully.

"I believe so." Sam nodded.

"I agree." Teal'c said.

…

Surrounded by a sea of bodies, Daniel's expression went from jaw-dropping amazement, to joyous smiles and finally broke into heartfelt laughter, as wave upon wave of the mass of Abydonians surged around each other to get close enough to embrace or touch him.

"Its amazing." he gasped, trying to see each of their faces individually through the moving mass: Tobay, Bolaa, Waalt, Naga, one by one, he recognized each face. "You're here. You're all here."

He had been told by Jack, Sam and Teal'c about what had happened on Abydos. How the whole planet had ascended when Anubis had destroyed the planet, but he hadn't allowed himself to completely believe it. It was the silver lining, the light at the end of a very long, very black tunnel and it was simply to bright to look at. He had lost everything that day. His interference had cost him his wife, his form… his memories. And it had all been for nothing. Despite his efforts, Anubis had gotten the eye and still destroyed the planet, still killed all the people he considered family. To know that all of them, every single one, were all safely living on a higher plane was too amazing, to impossible for him to fully accept.

Eventually, he spotted Kasuf's face through the crowd. The Abydonians parted making room for their chef.

"Good Father," Daniel greeted with a nod, wondering if it was still right to call him that.

"Good Son," Kasuf returned. "You have rejoined us. Is your fight over?"

"No, I will need to go back... I have re-married."

Daniel waited on baited breath for Kasuf's reaction, trying to recall the Abydonian views on second marriages.

"This I already know." Kasuf said, his tone sounding more surprised than angry.

"You do?"

"Yes." Kasuf told him with a sharp nod. "It was your present wife that helped many of us here."

"Oh." Daniel said slowly, not knowing what else to say. "But I thought Oma…" he turned to her.

Oma gave him a cheeky smile. "I had to deal with a certain young man's hot temper at the time. If I hadn't, the Others would have. And they wouldn't have been so nice about it. So, I asked Leesia for her assistance while I attended to her…how did she put it?…her stubborn husband."

"She is a good woman." Kasuf said. "It is a good match and it would please my daughter greatly to know you are once again happy."

At the mention of Sha'ra, Daniel felt a lump rise in his throat. He turned to his father-in-law. "Good Father, I want you to know that…I never stopped loving your daughter. She will always be a part of me…I guess what I'm saying is…I'm asking for your blessing?"

Kasuf smile and placed his hand on Daniel's cheek. "You had it already. As well as all of our gratitude. Without you none of us would have found a place among the enlightened."

…

Leesia wondered around Daniel's office with an armful of books, in varies degrees of wear. Occasionally she would pause and slip a book onto one of the shelves, doing her best to remember where each one had been stored before, but despite the amount of time she had spent in this office, Daniel's crazy organisation system was still mystifying to her.

"Do not see what is be so bad with the alphabet." she gripped to herself, under her breath.

"Mrs Jackson?"

Grateful for the distraction, she turned to face the unfamiliar voice. The man who stood by the doorway, dressed in his dress blues, she had never seen in the flesh before, but she recognized him easily from his photo. He was taller and broader in person. Other than the bright blue eyes and the same shade of his short hair, she couldn't see the resemblance to Daniel that she had overheard some of the members of the SGC speak about since the Colonel had joined SG-1.

"Colonel Mitchell, welcome." she greeted with a smile.

"Call me Cameron." he said, offering his hand.

"Leesia." she returned, taking his hand briefly. "Are you settling in well?"

"Yeah. Is it always this hectic 'round here?"

"No, sometimes it is worse."

Mitchell laughed, wondering what he had got himself into. "I've been told that you turned down the position yourself and went to bat for me."

Leesia look up with a knowing glint in her eyes. "When did Jack tell you that?"

"Pretty much as soon as I walked through the door."

"That must have been uncomfortable for you."

Cam chuckled. "I did kinda get the impression that he wasn't too fond of me."

"Daniel would say that is a good sign."

Confused, Cameron frowned. "It is?"

"It would indicate that you are well skilled in your work."

"I guess the ole General is going to take some getting used to."

"I wish you luck with that. It has been many months and I am still trying to figure his ways."

"I was wondering why."

"He is a more complex man than he first appears." Leesia stated simply.

"No, I mean why did you recommend me?"

"I had a, how do you put it?… a gut feeling about you. Besides I think we should be thanking you, for your assistance in Antarctica."

"Ah, no need." Cam shrugged off her thanks. "In fact, why don't we call it even? From what I hear if it wasn't for you using your mojo, things could have been a lot worse for my guys and me."

Leesia blushed. "It was the least I could do. You were all risking your lives for us."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry about Doctor Jackson." he said sombrely. "Has there been any news."

Leesia pinched her lips between her teeth and willed her jaw not to tremble. She shook her head, sadly.

"If there is anything I can do."

"Thank you." she said, gratefully with a quiver.

It wasn't till the Colonel turned to leave that Leesia noticed the similarity. Apart from the fact that Cameron actually seemed to be looking where he was going, it could have easily been her husband walking away.

…

With the last of the goodbyes and wishes of good fortune uttered, the Abydonians departed and Daniel turned his attention back to Oma, eagerly wanting her to continue her tail. If he was to defeat Anubis and get his son back, he had to know his enemy. "You were saying, Anubis learned that the Goa'uld were inhibited from ascending because of their use of the sarcophagus." he prompted, settling himself down in a manner that he hoped told her that he wasn't going anywhere, until he had all the facts.

"Yes." Oma confirmed, taking a seat beside him in the soft sand. "He knew of only one Goa'uld at the time that refused the use of the sarcophagus. What do you know of Kabechet?"

"Kabechet?" Daniel ran the name through his head, then began speaking very quickly. "Uh in Egyptian mythology she was the goddess of purification. Said to be the daughter of Anubis, who helped him with the rituals of the dead."

"That is a lose interpretation of the facts. She is his daughter, but she did not help him with the ritual, more accurately she showed him the path to ascension, albeit unwillingly."

Daniel's eyebrows jumped up his forehead. "Are you saying that he used his own daughter as a test subject?"

"Yes. She suffered greatly during his examinations. His manipulations of her were physically and mentally torturous. She was brought to the point of death many times, all without the healing effects of the sarcophagus to alleviate her suffering… It took years," she added mournfully.

Daniel couldn't help but feel the same deep compassion and sympathy for the woman that Oma clearly did. No one deserved to go through what she had, especially at the hands of her own father. He wouldn't have wished that fate on anyone…Not even a Goa'uld.

"Only when he had learned all he needed to complete his scheme did he leave her for dead." Oma continued. "When he came to me in Kheb, he already knew what he was doing. When I realised the horrible mistake that I had made I tried to undo it, but I couldn't. That's when the Others stepped in."

"I don't understand. They only sent him halfway back. Why not all the way?"

"It's complicated."

"Yeah, what isn't around here?" Daniel said irritably. "What became of Kabechet?"

"She tried to sacrifice herself to save her hosts life, but her host wouldn't consent to it. The selfless act, the willingness to die for one another, was the last thing needed to achieve ascension."

"So there's another ascended Goa'uld out there?"

"Not exactly. The host and symbiote died in harmony with each other, but while a Goa'uld symbiote could never achieve enlightenment without assistance, her host did. She joined the ranks of the Excubitary to ensure that no ascended being would help a lower being ascend. She kept a close watch and proved a huge hindrance to those of us trying to help people ascend."

"Why?" Daniel asked.

"She did not wish anyone to ever make the same mistake I did with her father. If one of us could be fooled by someone so evil then it could happen again. She thought it better to stop it altogether, rather than risk a repeat occurrence."

"That's ridicules. She can't judge the whole galaxy by the standards of her father."

"She does not view things the same way anymore."

"What changed?"

"She fell in love. Because of her parentage she never thought that she would be loved by someone pure of heart."

"And did he love her back?"

"Yes."

"Is she here? Can I speak to her? She may know where my son is."

"She is no longer with the ascended."

"Always causing a stir, ah Jackson?" An unfamiliar voice said.

With a small sigh of irritation and a roll of his eyes, Daniel spun around to see who it was who had caused the latest interruption. Would he ever get to the end of this story?

The large bellied man with small watery eyes, smiled down at him mockingly. Daniel was certain he had never set eyes on him before. However, there was no mistaking the loathsome essence that rolled off the man in overbearing waves.

Daniel swallowed back the vile taste in his throat. "Anubis."

…

Brigadier General Jack O'Neill leaned back in the comfy red leather chair, that had until recently been occupied by General Hammond, and glared at the brimming pile of paperwork on the desk before him. He hated paperwork, always done whatever he could to avoid it at all cost. This current pile seemed to be never ending. It felt like as soon as he was done with one, another two would take its place.

With a mused look on his face, he turned slowly to the side and eyed up the shredder that sat next to his desk. He pursed his lips thoughtfully, his head going back and forth, as if he was watching a game of tennis, flitting between the offending pile paperwork and the shredder.

He had spent most of his adult life sticking it to 'the man' (most of his childhood as well, now he thought of it), now _he_ was _'The man', _the boss, the big cheese.

"Ugh." he gripped, as he slapped both hands to cover his face.

"Sir?"

Jack removed his hands to see Carter standing in the threshold of Hamm- of his office, her fist poised to knock.

"Am I interrupting?" she asked.

"Yes, but please god do!"

Sam stepped inside and closed the door behind her. It was then that he spotted the papers in her hand. "Unless you're here to add to the pile. In which case, no you may not. You may run, taking it as far from me as is humanly possible."

Despite his light-hearted teasing, Carter stood her ground, pulling the papers nervously between her thumb and forefingers.

He didn't like the look she was wearing. Sam was always more likely to get mad then embarrassed, so why was she blushing?

"What is that?" he asked, pointing at the papers she was fiddling with.

"It's my letter of resignation, sir."

Jack's eyes went round with shock. "Come again."

"It's my letter of resignation." she repeated.

"That's what I thought you said. Why are you doing this, Carter? I just promoted you."

"And an application request to stay on with SG-1 as a civilian." she continued ignoring his question. "They mutually exclusive. And dependent on one thing."

Not convinced he wanted to know the answer; Jack bit the bullet and asked. "And that would be…?"

Sam stared at the floor as she answered, her cheeks flaring pink. "Hypothetically, _if"_ She emphasised the word, strongly. "I were to hand these in, would it make a difference to…" she gathered her courage and finished her sentence. "…us?"

When Jack didn't reply, she peeked up at him through her eyelashes. His wide-eyed stare remain for a second, before he started shifting uncomfortable in his chair, looking like a naughty little boy in the hot seat.

Jack swallowed, cleared his throat, loudly…twice, swallowed again. "Hypothetically, I'd have to say…yes, but that's not to say I'd let you do it." he added the last bit firmly.

"With all due respect, sir, that's wouldn't be your decision to make."

…

"You're dead." Daniel said, jumping to his feet. "We killed you."

The man laughed and held his arms wide. "Do I look dead to you?"

"Your physical body is dead. You can have no more effect on anyone. If you tried, the Others will stop you."

"There are _other vessels_ I can use to retake a physical presence."

The way he said that, completely void of any amount of compassion, of humanity, sent a fierce shiver run down Daniel's spine and made his blood run cold. It was pointed -he had someone specific in mind.

'_My son!'_

Desperate anger rose up through him. "No!" he screamed, as he lunged for the man, trying to get his hands around his throat.

He passed harmlessly through him. His speed making him stumble a few steps before he could turn round to face his intended target.

Anubis laughed loudly. "You cannot harm me."

"Maybe not like that." Daniel replied, with a quick raise of one thick eyebrow. He collected all his anger, all his pain and concentrated it all. Instantly, he felt bright yellow energy ball in his palms.

However, the moment he aimed to shot the energy at Anubis, he felt a strong pull. A pull that dragged him away from the evil being and away from the beach of the once peaceful shores of Malgena.

He growled out a scream as he rounded on Oma, barely taking in the new tropical location, that she had yanked him to.

"Why?" he demanded, his eyes spitting rage. "Why stop me? Again!"

"It is not a battle you alone can win." Oma replied, her soft tone remorseful.

"I can try!" Daniel shot out.

Oma shook her head. "No, if you were to fight him you could not win. Neither of you could. You are evenly matched. A battle between you both would never be able to end. It would be a never ending deadlock, one neither of you could surrender from."

In Daniel's mind, he saw it as a game of chess. With a board, as big as infinity two kings could chase each other around forever and never achieve checkmate. And even if a slip up was made and one king was somehow cornered, there was a 50/50 chance as to whether it was the white or the black king that toppled.

What he needed was to tip the balance in his favour.

What he needed was more pieces. He had never felt more alone than he did at that moment. He missed his friends and wife so badly it was almost unbearable. He needed Sam's wisdom, Teal'c strength, Jack's unflappable calm, but most of all he needed the comfort of Leesia's presence.

He turned his desperate eyes to Oma. "Help me!" he pleaded.

Her eyebrows lowered in sympathy. "I cannot interfere with anything he does."

"Why?"

"It is my punishment."

"Wait!" Daniel shot out, raising a hand to halt her. "Anubis can do whatever he wants. Corrupt, enslave and kill hundreds, thousands or innocent people. All to punish you? A good person, who believed they were doing a good thing."

"The Others don't see it that way." Oma said, with a slight shake of her head. "I keep making the same mistakes, helping people ascend."

"What if you stopped?"

"Wouldn't solve the problem."

Daniel huffed and rubbed the back of his head. _'There has to be a way! There just has to be!' _With nothing else to go on, he turned to the past to seek the answers to the presence. "What was the name of Kabechet's host?"

Oma looked up at him, startled by his change of subject. "You have to understand Daniel, it is not as simple as black and white. There are shades of grey."

"What's her name?" he repeated, refusing to allow Oma's conundrum to deter his current train of thought.

"It is who we are, not what we are…our choices that define whether we are good or evil." she continued.

"I already know this." Daniel snapped. "Is there some reason why you're avoiding answering the question?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because if my son wasn't on Tararus, then there's a chance he could be in this lab that she was kept in."

"She does not remember that part of her life. Those memories were wiped from her mind"

"Of course they were." Daniel said through a sigh. "Would she be willing to remember?"

Oma remained silent, so he continued. "Look, I don't have time for cryptic games. I have a wife back home, who right now must be going crazy waiting for news on our son and on me. I have to know who…" his voice trailed off as the pieces of the puzzle finally clicked into place in his mind. His jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide.

It all made sense. Her irrational fear of the infirmary (or not so irrational he supposed; now he knew the reason behind it). The fact that she had kept an ability after her descension, as well as, how she was able to absorb information so quickly, told him that she had to be something more than human. How Anubis had known of her pregnancy. No doubt he would have wanted to kept watch on his daughter. Something Hathor had once said to him played through his head. _'We must have the code of life…In order to ensure compatibility for the Goa'uld and the host.'_ Therefore, who would be a better DNA match for Anubis than his own grandson would?

"It's Leesia…she's Kabechet."

The look on Oma's face was hard to read. However, Daniel didn't need her to confirm it to him.

…

"Holly…Hannah." Sam panted, as she glanced around the disorder around the office. Files and papers littered the floor, having been flung off the desk in one big swoop, seemingly much to Jack's delight. "If I'm being honest, as far as first kisses are concerned, I have to say…wow." Sam gasped.

Jack combed his fingers, lovingly through her tousled hair. "Well, if we're being honest, I have to tell you that, that wasn't our first kiss."

Sam stared up at him questionably, before realisation set in. "The me from the other reality doesn't count, it wasn't actually me."

"Wasn't thinking about that." Jack assured her.

"Surely not the caveman thing?"

"Wasn't thinking about that either... But now that you mention it, do you still own that sweet little tank top number?"

Sam gave him one of her best reproaching glares and waited for him to fill her in on what 'kiss' he was referring to, her arms folded impatiently.

"Remember when Teal'c and I got suck in that time loop?"

"Oh, you didn't."

His brown eyes tweaked with mischief. "Oh, didn't I?" he said through a crocked smile He leaned down and for the second time, he did something he never thought he would be able to do, not in this reality anyway. His kissed Samantha Carter. The woman who he had coveted for, for years. The woman who he had never spoken his love to verbally, but who had understood what his heart was whispering to her, without him having to utter one word. The fighter, the scientist, the woman with more balls than half the man in the base put together.

His backup. His second in command. His strength.

His love.

His Sam.

"What made you do this?" he asked when his lips finally, reluctantly freed hers. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, but I never thought-"

"I know." she interrupted. "I didn't either." Sam smiled. "It was something Leesia said to me, actually."

"What?"

"She said that if I left it up to you it would never happen."

That made Jack laugh, although he couldn't deny it. "That's Sparky for ya. Cut's through all the crap and sticks her nose exactly where it's needed."

"With Colonel Mitchell joining the team, and you as General, I saw my chance. I thought if Daniel and Leesia could overcome all they went through to be together, then it should be a walk in the park for us…But, then again, maybe I should have chosen a more appropriate time to talk to you."

"You mean wait until after Daniel gets back?"

"No, actually I meant…" she pointed over Jack's shoulder.

His eyes followed the direction her finger and her eyes were pointing.

Walter stood on the opposite side of the star chart covered window, stone still. His mouth and eyes so wide they seemed to be competing against each other, for the 'who-could-look-the-most-shocked' award. It was a dead tie.

"Walter, don't knock." Jack snapped, climbing to his feet and offering his hand to Sam.

"I'm sorry, sir, I-I… I'll come back later." the airman stammered, his voice muffled through the glass. He backed up a few steps, before turning and hurrying from the briefing room.

"I guess that means that playtimes over." Jack grumbled. "But, dinner tonight, my place. I'll coo- I'll order in."

"There's nothing in your fridge except beer is there?"

"There is." He thought for a long second. "Just nothing I would describe as, you know, food."

Sam chuckled, shaking her head.

"So, Mexican, 'bout seven?"

"Sounds good." Sam said smiling widely as she went to leave. However, she paused at the door when Jack spoke again.

"It's good to keep you on the team…_Doctor_ Carter."

"Thank you si-"

"Ah!" Jack shot out, raising his finger, pausing her.

"…Jack." she corrected. Her smile widened, and was returned amplified

…

"_Your own daughter! …How could you?" _

Anubis heard and felt the anger and hatred in the voice, before the visual presents of a livid Daniel Jackson materialized before his eyes.

"So you know." he said, coolly. "Did Oma tell you, or did you have to figure it out for yourself, like last time?"

"I knew?" Daniel chocked out, in shock, before he could stop himself. Quickly, he locked his jaw to keep from giving anything more away. He didn't want to create a situation for Oma, and he could sense the Others (who sat around causally lounging on the beach, as if nothing untoward was taking place) listening to every heated word.

"Does it sicken you now, as much as it did then?"

Daniel's fist balled beneath his folded arms. "How could you?"

"She reaped the benefits. She should thank me."

"For torturing her?" Daniel replied, cynically "For leaving her so severely mentally scared that the effects still haunt her, even though she doesn't remember why?"

"A small price to pay." Anubis said, stepping to the side, circling around Daniel, like a jackal stalking his helpless pray. "Tell me, Doctor Jackson, did my manipulations of her make her a more dutiful wife?"

Daniel kept his eyes front, refusing to follow his enemy's revolutions. Minutely, he shook his head. "You're sick!"

"Does she lay submissive to your desires? Unresponsive as the dead to your touch? …Or does she still scream?"

Daniel squeezed his eyes shut, refusing to let the white-hot rage that was surging through him show on his face. He absorbed every burning droplet.

Anubis circled back around to the front and leaned in close. "How does it feel to know that I am in her every cell?"

"She's nothing like you." Daniel hissed, through clenched teeth.

"No. She was a disappointment, not worthy of my mantle, far too weak. Her offspring however, was much more pleasing."

Daniel's eyes snapped open and zeroed in on Anubis like a laser beam. "What have you done to him? Where's my son?" he demanded.

Anubis laughed a deep bellowing cackle. "All the power and knowledge of the universe and you still are just as clueless as you always were."

"Where's my son?" he repeated, threateningly. "You will tell me, or I will wipe you from existence."

"An empty threat, Doctor Jackson."

"You may be." Daniel paused and shot out a single syllabled laugh. "Sorry, what I meant to say was; you may _have been _a powerful Goa'uld back in the physical plane, but here you are alone."

"As are you."

Daniel couldn't help the gloating smile that tugged the corners of his lips up. "That's where you're wrong. Here, thanks to you, I have an army."

Skaara came to flank him on his left, his arms folded across his chest, mirroring Daniel's determined stance. Kasuf joined them on his right, his head held high and proud. One by one, every single being, that had one time considered themselves Abydonian, came to stand behind Daniel.

"I'll ask once more." Daniel said, slowly. "Where's my son?"

"You will never find him." Anubis replied, obstinately.

Queued by Daniel's slight nod and with a war cry of "For Abydos!" the crowd unleashed the full strength of their energies.

Anubis's own energy shot out of his upturned hands, enveloping him like a shield as the magnitude of beams hit.

"Nooooooooooooooo" came the Goa'uld's strangled scream, as his shield started to shrivel under the pressure of the sheer volume of powers pressing down on him.

"Check mate." Daniel taunted, adding his own yellow beam to the bright hues of the mass.

As Anubis's light ebbed away, his fading voice forced itself, like white-hot needles of rage, into Daniel's mind. _"You think you have won Daniel Jackson, but I will relish with the knowledge that your son died with me, for he was on the ship with my Jaffa when you and your people saw to their demise."_

"_You're lying!"_

"_You would know if I were." _Anubis continued, his voice barley heard._ "You're son is dead! And it was by your hand…"_

With his final word still resounding in Daniel's head, Anubis faded into nothing.


	2. Chapter 2 Stars,Tears,Feathers and Omits

**Chapter 2 ~ Stars, Tears, Feathers and Omits.**

He had never been so elated to see his cluttered office before. Sighing in relief, Daniel gingerly picked himself off the cold hard floor. He had done it. He was back. The cool breeze from the AC wafted over him, making his skin goose-bump and he stared down at his naked form. _'Crap! Why didn't I think to come back in the locker room?'_ Quickly, he yanked a tribal mask off the wall and used it to cover his groin, and then he scanned around the room, looking for something, anything that he could wear. Many times, he had left his over shirt or jacket in here, but today it was irritatingly missing. _'There must be something here,'_ he thought as he continued his hunt.

Barely a minute into his search he heard the door hiss open and he froze waiting to see who it was that was about to discover him routing through his office, naked.

Leesia strode inside, her eyes down, locked on the open book in her hands. She was so absorbed she didn't notice she wasn't alone.

A barrage of thoughts and feelings swarmed in on him and he took a long moment to just watch her while he tried to shift through them. What he had discovered about her past and who she used to be, had been weighing his thoughts ever since he found out. She was the daughter of Anubis, a Goa'uld. _'Well, former.'_ his mind reminded him. He loathed the Goa'uld. Everything about them was corrupt and evil. From the moment the Stargate had been opened, they had been the bane of his existence. It was the Goa'uld who had kidnapped, enslaved and killed thousands upon thousands of humans throughout the galaxy. It was the Goa'uld who used and abused humans in any way they pleased. He had seen them use people as unwilling hosts, lab rats and even used innocent children as bombs, seeing them as nothing more than a means to an end. The Goa'uld had brainwashed, corrupted and manipulated people he cared about deeply, as well as countless more. It was a Goa'uld that had stolen Sha're from him, another than had infiltrated her body, subsequently ending her life and the life he had known and loved. He himself had been tortured by different Goa'uld's more times than he cared to count, and there were others who had suffered far worse by their hands. It had been a Goa'uld (in the body of his former lover no less) that had infiltrated his dreams and manipulated his mind. It was a Goa'uld that had…raped him.

He despised them all, each and every one of them, and everything about them.

And now he found out that he was married to one.

'_Former!'_ he reminded himself again, more forcefully. He couldn't help but wonder if he would think of her any differently now that he knew. Would he feel differently towards her? Would he see her as something other than the woman he had fallen in love with?

A movement in the doorway caught his attention.

Looking every bit like a sentry on guard duty, Teal's stood in the hallway, just outside the office. His legs slightly parted, arms clasped behind his back. Daniel blushed under the Jaffa's penetrating gaze and subconsciously tightened his hold on the mask hiding his nudity. Meeting Daniel's eyes, Teal'c gave a knowing smile, and then closed his eyes briefly as he gave a single nod in Daniel's direction. Silently, he turned and walked away, leaving the couple in privacy.

Grateful, for his friend's unspoken comprehension, Daniel turned his attention back to the conundrum of the woman before him. She still hadn't noticed that she wasn't alone. He saw her gently raise her hand to her throat, searching for something hidden beneath the collar of… _'Is that my shirt?'_ With her focus still locked on the book, she pulled out a thin chain from beneath the material, and absently started twisting something attached around her fingers. Daniel squinted, trying to see clearer without his glasses. The bracelet she had given him for his last birthday sat loosely on her wrist. He looked harder, trying to work out what it was she was fiddling with.

The light from his study lamp caught the object and Daniel saw a bright orange glint flash in the light.

A smiled pulled at his lips as he realised it was his wedding ring.

She had swaddled herself in reminders of him. His shirt, his bracelet, his ring…his watch also he realised, seeing it was the only thing holding the loose fitting bracelet on her delicate wrist. A speeded scan of the shelves around them, seeing most books incorrectly filed, told him that she had spent a lot of time in this office. In _his_ office. He didn't need to be a genius to realise that he hadn't been far from her thoughts while he had been gone.

Without even realising it, her actions had told him everything that he needed to know. She loved him. She had held on to him in every way she could. He would have done the same thing in her shoes. Because he loved her too.

Softly, Daniel cleared his throat, to get her attention.

All the air was knocked out of his lungs as Leesia threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him.

His heart swelled as he felt her tingles surge into him. Tingles that only existed between them due to their mutual past ascension. An ascension she wouldn't have been able to achieve had she not been so pure in spirit.

The mask clattered to the floor by their feet as he followed suit, pulling her tighter to his chest. "I missed you too," he whispered, chuckling with relief, as he planted a kiss on the base of her neck and took a big lungful of the scent of her hair.

"I was so worried." Her voice was muffled against chest.

"I said I'd be back," he reminded her, leaving a second gentle kiss on her shoulder. "Two strikes and I'm out, remember?"

She clung to him tightly, "You're safe."

"I'm safe," he confirmed.

"And you are well?"

He nodded against her shoulder. "I'm fine."

"The Others, they did not penalize you?"

Confused by her question and her tone of surprised relief, Daniel frowned. "No, why would they?"

When she pulling back so she could look him over, there were tears of joy collecting in her eyes. She raised her hand to trace over his face and he smiled at the touch.

Then, she slapped him.

He rolled his jaw, his left cheek stinging hotly. "Okay?…Ow!" Daniel said, more out of shock than actual pain. He kept his head turned to the side and peeked at her warily, out of the corner of his eye.

The expression she wore kept shifting, joy, anger, relief, back to anger, as if she couldn't decided how she felt. "I have been so…beyond worried!" she only just managed to choke out, her tone shifting to furious, as the tears made their escape.

"But that's over now. I'm back," he pointed out, doing his best to keep his voice gentle.

Her eyes narrowed, causing more tears to spill. "Do not diminish this! I will not abide with you endangering something as precious as your life."

"It was worth the risk," he argued. He knew it was a mistake the moment he said it.

When her lips thinned, Daniel flinched and closed his eyes, expecting another slap. However when he felt her skin make contact with his, it was a soft gentle caress. Her fingertips, cool on his overheated cheek. "To you maybe, however to your friends and me nothing is worth the risk of losing you. They each tried to hide it from me, but I know they were just as troubled by what happened as I was. Did you not think to inform us all that you were alright and confirm that you would be coming back?"

Suitably chastised, Daniel drooped his head. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I didn't mean to hurt you. But, I was…busy." It sounded like a lame excuse and he knew it, so he quickly carried on before she could continue her verbal assault...or slap him again. "Anubis had to be stopped and I had a chance to do just that. I couldn't come back until I knew that he was gone for good."

"I take it that this mean you were successful."

Daniel nodded. "Yes…He's dead, Lees. He can't hurt you anymore." He realized that she didn't remember the pain Anubis had personally inflicted on her, those memories had been lost when she had become human, but he had to tell her that for his own peace of mind. And he wondered if she could find some subconscious comfort in that, he hoped she would.

"There's more?" she questioned, looking up at him knowingly.

Gently, Daniel clasped both her hands in his. His head bowed, lips tight, knowing he wasn't ready to tell her what he had been told, but equally knowing that he would have to.

"Daniel?" she asked, fearfully. "What is it?"

When he looked up at her there were tears filling his eyes. "As he died…Anubis, he…he told me…" He dropped his gaze to their hands, his throat tightening against the words. _'God, this was hard. How do you tell a mother that her child was…' _He couldn't even think the word, let alone say it aloud. "Our son…he…"

She pulled her hands from his so she could touch his face. "I know." she told him, softly.

He looked up at her, in confusion. "You know?"

She nodded, biting her bottom lip as she thumbed away his tears, not caring about her own that flowed just as copiously down her face. "When we could not find him on Tararus, I deduced he was with Anubis when we -when we-" Daniel quickly pulled her into his arms, as her silent weeping suddenly turned into hysterical sobbing. "I didn't want to believe it!" she wailed.

He rocked her, as she clung to him. He tried to push aside his own sorrow, that stabbed at his heart, as he held her, running his hand lovingly up and down her quivering spine and whispering words of reassurance to her. He knew whatever he did would offer her little comfort, only time would ease her pain and that seemed impossible at the moment, but he had to try. He needed to try, because the second he stopped, the second he lost hope…then their son was truly dead.

He held his breath, jaw tense, trying to silent the sobs that, despite his best efforts, were breaking sporadically free from him. He wouldn't let her know he was crying. She had her own pain to deal with and he refused to add his on top. She had suffered enough.

Slowly, her sobs came fewer and further between, eventually interspersed with hiccups. She pulled back slightly so she could look him in the eye. "Don't," she said softly.

"I'm sorry." he chocked out, attempting to steady his breathing and stem the flow of tears, which he harshly brushed from his face with the back of his free hand. He could weep when he was alone. "I'm trying."

"No, I mean stop trying. You do not have to be strong for me," she told him, her soft soulful eyes pleading. "Let us be strong for each other."

He couldn't help but be amazed she had noticed his pain despite the immensity of her own, or that he was trying to hide it. Always so in tune to his feelings, he didn't even have to say. She read him like a book and he loved her for it. "Okay." he conceded, pulling her closer so her head rested in the hollow of his throat and dropping his cheek to rest on her hair.

Silently, her tears rolled down his chest to his stomach, while his were lost in her soft hair. "I love you," she whispered to him.

"I love you also," he repeated back to her, her usual phrase. Despite her grief, she managed a tiny smile.

"Uh hmmm."

The forced cough made Daniel swivel his attention to the doorway of his office. An arm was looped around the doorframe, a bundle of olive green material dangling from its grasp.

"Danny-boy." Jack's singsong voice echoed in from the hallway, as the arm shook the offered material temptingly.

Daniel frowned, wondering just what his friend was playing at, before he realised. "Oh." He couldn't believe that he had forgotten that he was still naked after his descension.

He looked down at Leesia, his concerned eyes asking the question he couldn't find the words for.

She nodded encouragingly, taking a small step back and wiping the wetness from her face with both hands. As much as she wanted, needed to keep hold of him, she knew she wasn't the only one who had missed him and his friends needed to see that he was back and safe for themselves. She wouldn't begrudge them their time with him.

Daniel rushed over and snatched the offered clothing Jack had provided. It turned out to be a flight suit. "How long have you been there?" he asked, as he stepped into it, buttoning up all but the two topmost buttons.

"Long enough." Jack admitted, stepping inside. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop. You know, you're still down as M.I.A. I could forget-" he made speech marks with his fingers. "-To correct that paperwork 'till tomorrow. Or longer if you want to take some personal time."

Quickly, Daniel thought over Jack's offer. He didn't want quiet time, alone with his thoughts, but one look at his wife, tired, emotional and gaunt, told him that he couldn't be selfish. She needed to rest and he knew through experience that she wouldn't do that without him. "Thank you." he nodded.

"Just do me a favour before you go" Jack requested. "Stop in and see Carter. She's been worried."

As soon as the three of them got to Sam's lab, Daniel received his second breath-stopping hug of the hour.

"Hey, Sam." he smiled, returning his friends enthusiastic hug.

After a lengthy discussion about the changes that had happened while he had been away, including an introduction to his new CO and a brief talk about the findings the team that had been sent to Antarctica had made, Daniel filled SG-1 and Leesia in on everything that had happened to him while with the Ancients (although he left out what Oma had shared with him about Leesia's past. He didn't want to discuss that in front of her, she wasn't ready to know yet, not while she was still dealing with the loss of their son).

It took them longer than Daniel wanted to leave the base. They were stopped by every person they passed to welcome Daniel back and by the time they made it through the final checkpoint, he felt drained. He took her hand as they quickly jogged to his jeep, to avoid the light rain.

When they got home, the first thing Daniel noticed was the musty smell of their home. The stale air and the slight uneasiness of Leesia's movements told him she hadn't been home in a long while. "How long was I gone?" he asked, softly.

"Thirty seven days." she replied quietly, without missing a beat.

'_Over a month!' _Daniel thought, shocked that so much time had passed. _'And she's still counting it in days...probably hours and minutes too.'_ he guessed judging by the speeded manner in which she had answered him.

"I had no idea it was that long," he admitted through a sigh, suddenly realising that her extreme reaction to his return wasn't actually extreme at all. He was positive his friends had been as supportive as possible, but for the most part, she would have been alone in her grief for their son and fretting over his return. "Had I known I would have…visited."

Even though she tried to mask it, he couldn't help but notice the anger that flashed through her eyes as she spoke. "I would have appreciated that."

When an uneasy silence fell over them, Daniel excused himself and headed for the bathroom. Although he wasn't dirty, a shower sounded perfect. He also wanted to get out of the flight suit he was wearing and into some of his own clothes...and underwear.

Normally he would have taken his time, enjoyed using _his_ shower, _his_ shampoo and all the comforts of home after so long away, but now he hurried, wanting to be parted from her for as little time as possible. Leesia's demeanour was causing him great concern. She mostly seemed vacant, void of any life, spark, and feelings. However, when an emotion had breeched the barrier she had erected around her heart, it was intense and muddled. It was as if she had so many emotions fighting for control that she didn't know how to handle them and so she turned them off as quickly as possible. She was angry with him, that much was obviously clear, despite her efforts to try to hide it. He wished he had had the foresight to come back to her during his ascension, if only to ease her worry, but something told him that her anger wasn't solely based on his lack of a visit. He had also seen her relief now that he was back, yet he guessed it was clouded by her grief for the loss of their son.

Hurriedly, he dried himself off and padded across the hall to their bedroom. He tried to be quiet, expecting to find her curled up in bed, she was clearly as exhausted as he was, probably more so. However, he found the bedroom empty. "Lees?" he called, as he pulled on some boxers and sweats. He called again, but there was no reply.

He wondered through to the living area. Kitchen, living room and dinning area were also empty.

"Leesia?" he called around their seemingly empty home. He checked his newly built den off the dinning area. It too was empty. Only one room left to be checked and he really wished she wasn't in there. With a heavy heart, he wandered slowly across the narrow hall…to the nursery.

The door was closed, so he tapped lightly on the pale wood. "Lees?" he called again, waiting for her reply…none came. He didn't want to go in, didn't want to see that freshly decorated room, dressed and ready for their baby.

He swallowed back a stubborn lump that rose in his throat and steadying himself he opened the door and took one peek inside. The scent of baby powder hit him as the door wafted open. He quickly scanned the room, not wanting to see the made and ready crib that would never be used. Or the piles of freshly laundered tiny outfits. Or the multi-coloured farm animals that hung from the still and silent mobile. Or the dozens of toys that waited in vain to be played with. The teddies with no charge to watch over. And all the others little bits and bobs that had held such joyous promises such a short time ago. But of course, his eyes morbidly sort out each and every one.

What he didn't spot was what he had been seeking... Leesia. She was nowhere to be found. With growing concern, he rechecked all the rooms again, calling for her all the while and was just reaching for the phone, about to call around the others and mount a search for her, when he spotted her.

She was outside of the French doors, leaning on the railing of the decking, gazing up at the lightly clouded night sky.

Leesia heard the door slide open behind her. She kept her head up, watching the stars winking down at them as the light rain spotted on her face. Silently, Daniel moved behind her, placing his hands on either side of her on the railing, effectively cloaking her with his body. Her protector, her support. She leaned back into him.

He rested his chin lightly on her shoulder. "You're getting wet," he said softly, as if she was unaware of the light rain that showered down on the pair of them, leaving minuscule droplets in their hair.

"Yes." she replied calmly, not taking her eyes off the night sky.

"Do you want to come inside?"

"No. It feels right to be here. I do not have enough tears for him, so the stars are lending me theirs."

Stargazing had always made Daniel feel very insignificant. A tiny speck in the infinite cosmos. The feeling had heightened since he had started visiting other planets and seen for himself the troubles that others out in the galaxy faced on a daily bases. However bad things may be for him, there were other things, more important things, out there for the powers that be to concern themselves with. But Leesia had seen things differently; she had turned a natural occurrence into something that could be viewed as an act of comfort and support. As if whole galaxy was mourning with them, sending them their condolences.

"That's beautiful, love," he said, grateful for the comfort her thoughts had given him.

"Do you- do you think…Could Anubis have lied?" Her silent tears made her eyes shine as brightly as the stars above them, glistening with that faint hope Daniel knew she needed and he was so desperate to give it to her.

But he couldn't lie to her. "He was in my head at the time," he told her with a heavy heart. There was no need to say more, she would know as well as he did what that meant. They both knew how it was when two ascended being were connected in anyway, even through simple thought. It was a direct link to the others soul, or what passed as a soul in this case. Misleading someone in this form would be nearly impossible. "He was telling the truth…I could feel that much."

"So our only hope is that he was mistaken."

Daniel nodded against her shoulder. He had been thinking the same thing, it was only a tiny hope, a sliver of a possibility, but it was all they had. Oma had said that the Others had been following their son and that they had lost track of him, of course that could validate Anubis's story, but it could also explain how he could be mistaken. He wouldn't give up.

They stayed outside leaning against the railing for a long time, just watching the stars cry. Until Daniel started worrying about how getting soaked to the skin would effect Leesia's health. As relieved as he had been to see her, he couldn't help but notice how warn out she looked and her drop in weight. She was not in the best shape and getting phenomena wouldn't help. He was shielding her with his body as much as he could, but he couldn't protect her fully from the rain. As peaceful as they were finding the moment, he decided it was time to head back inside.

"Come on," he said gently, making it a request rather than an demand, wrapping his arm across her shoulders and giving her an encouraging tug in the direction of the house.

She hesitated for a second, looking up longingly at her twinkling benefactors, before moving tightly into his awaiting embrace and letting him steer her into the warmth of their home.

He led her through to the bedroom, grabbing a towel on the way, sat down on the bed and pulled her onto his lap. He used the towel to scrunch the excess water from her hair. She sat quietly, enjoying the feel of his hands in her hair and the warmth of his body. The simple act showing her all his consideration, love, the gentleness of his heart shining through his touch. She wiggled on his lap until he parted his thighs, letting her slip down between them and she pivoted slightly so she could see his face.

She reached up and cradled both his cheeks, lovingly surrounding his face in her warmth and tingles. "I am sorry," she whispered through a wavering voice. "I should not have struck you."

"Its okay." he said nuzzling into her touch. He didn't want to condone it, violence in a relationship was wrong, no matter whether it was towards a man or a woman, but the guilt she was feeling was clear in her voice. "Just don't do it again."

"I wont." she promised and gently, she pulled his head lower, towards her and did something she hadn't done since before their son was stolen from them.

_She_ kissed _him_.

Daniel's heart swelled with joy as he felt her lips moving over his, gently yet with passion. It had been so long, too long since she had approached him for anything. Apart from the little subtle touches and gestures, they had hardly touched each other since their ba… since the night of their wedding. And with the exception of a head massage, all of those contacts had been instituted by him. He had kissed her many times since, but it was usually on her shoulder, neck, cheek or forehead. Now, with her lips moving an encouraging dance over his, he felt a flock of demanding butterflies explode in his stomach. Gratefully, he wrapped his arms around her and followed her lead, letting her set the pace of their kiss. He hoped it was a sign. A sign that the distance between them, that had been a constant, relentless pressure, was finally reducing. And the fear that he could lose his marriage started to recede.

All too soon, she pulled away and out of his embrace. Disappointment stabbed at him, as she rose off him, nervously tugging on her bottom lip. She began to pace the small bedroom.

"Are you okay?" Daniel asked as he watched Leesia pace, her hands twisting over each other. She paused and glanced over at him briefly before carrying on with her anxious pacing.

"Right, stupid question." Daniel nodded slowly. "Let me rephrase that. What are you thinking?"

She paused again and took a slow deep breath. Her eyes focused on her twinning fingers. "I wish to make love with you," she said hesitantly.

He hadn't been expecting that and his eyebrows jumped up his forehead, as he was stunned momentarily into silence. This was the first time she had sort him for anything physical and it was so much more than a simple kiss. A kiss that he hadn't even been expecting. She wanted intimacy, a chance to be close…and she looked scared to death about it.

"And that's made you nervous?" He realised it was another stupid question before he even finished saying it. Of course she's gonna be nervous after everything she'd been through, but it was a break through. She was slowly giving him the chance to get through the barrier that she had erected over her wounded heart and he couldn't let the opportunity slip through his fingers.

She didn't answer, but started up her pacing again.

He sighed inwardly, not letting her see. He knew he had to handle things carefully and was terrified of saying or doing the wrong thing. He wanted her to come to him, she had never been backwards about coming forward before. In fact, now that he thought about it he couldn't remember initiating any intercourse they had had. Ever. But recently she had been so completely cut of from him, emotionally as well as physically, and he didn't want to push her into anything she wasn't ready for.

But after her third silent circuit of the bedroom, he couldn't take it anymore. Her anxiety seemed to be radiating out of her in waves. He needed to do something, anything to ease her discomfort.

Not knowing what else he could do, he stepped up and pulled her into his arms, effectively ending her nervous pacing. Was she worried about it hurting? Janet had given her a clean bill of health, she would be fine. He wouldn't have even considered the notion otherwise. But, just because she was fit physically didn't mean she was ready. "I don't want you to feel like you have to. I can wait as long as you want, as long as you need. There's no rush."

"No, it is not that Daniel." she said, gently shaking her head. "I want to." she insisted.

"Then what?" he asked. "You know I'd be gentle."

"I know." she sighed, nuzzling into his chest. "I never doubted that."

"Then what is it, Leesia?" he asked, desperate to know. She was trembling in his arms, he tightened his grip on her slightly, silently trying to offer her all the support, and comfort that he could for whatever had her so panicked.

"I do not wish to become pregnant," she said, immediately starting to tug on her lower lip with her teeth, nervously awaiting his reaction.

Daniel had to stop himself from sighing in relief, or even laughing out loud at the innocence of her confession. Of course she wouldn't want to fall pregnant again so soon, he had anticipated that and had already acquired contraceptives. He had found it so obvious in fact, that he hadn't even considered discussing it with her. That had been a mistake he now realised, but one that he could easily rectify, he just needed to discuss their options with her.

"There're precautions we can take to prevent that," he told her, moving over to the bedside draw. He reached inside, fumbling through the contents, feeling for one of the foil wrapper he knew he had left there.

When he handed a condom to her and began explaining how it worked, she studied it closely. "So this acts as a barrier between us?" she questioned as he concluded his explanation.

"Uh hmm." Daniel nodded, kissing her shoulder. "And that stops you getting pregnant."

"Then these are unacceptable." she said firmly, handing it back to him. "I do not wish to be parted from you in anyway, especially when we are at are closest physically."

"There are other ways. There are tablets you can take every morning, jabs that last a few months, among others, but these are all we have for now. We'd have to go and see Janet for anything else. We can use whatever you want, for as long as you need."

The bottom lip immediately went back between her teeth again. "No, you do not understand, Daniel. I do not want to become pregnant…ever again."

Suddenly her nervousness made perfect sense to him as the realisation of what she was trying to say hit him. She was not scared of being intimate with him; she was scared of his reaction to her refusal to have his child. He didn't know how he felt about that, he hadn't even considered having another child. They had been though so much recently, more than anyone should ever go through, and a decision like that couldn't be made hastily. It couldn't be made until both of them where thinking clearly.

She must have seen where his thoughts were leading him because she quickly spoke up. "I will not change my mind, Daniel."

He doubted that. She had made a rushed decision, without discussion, and she would most likely feel differently when her grief wasn't as raw. Nevertheless, tonight was a brake through, she was telling him how she felt and he wouldn't let this honesty go to waste, or let it lead to an argument. "Okay, I understand." he soothed quickly.

"You do?" She gazed up at him, her eyes twinkling with hope.

"Of course."

She slumped down into his arms as if a heavy burden had been lifted off her shoulders.

That night, with all the gentleness that he had, Daniel made love to her. It wasn't about sex, or reaching the pleasurable release of climax, it was about a physical display of their love for each other. For Daniel it was reconnecting with each other, remembering how they felt and responded to each other. For Leesia it was feeling like her body was being rightfully reclaimed by her husband, the only one who owned her in body, mind and soul.

After, she watched him sleep. She leaned closer and kissed him, surprised and delighted to feel his lips respond to hers, despite his slumber. With a smile, she snuggled into his chest and closed her eyes to join him in sleep.

…

"So she was a Goa'uld and then she was ascended and now she's human?" Jack said, flapping his hand back and forth for each point, from his new position at the head of the briefing table. The four members of his flagship team sat alongside him, Daniel then Mitchell to his right, Sam then Teal'c to his left.

Daniel sighed. "Yes, Jack, once again you've managed to concentrate a complex thought into the most simplistic form possible." he said irritably. He had spent a great deal of time explaining what he had learned about Leesia's past from Oma and here Jack was reducing his carefully worded and well thought out lecture into one sentence.

"She doesn't remember any of this?" Sam asked.

Daniel shook his head.

"And you haven't told her?" Sam questioned, sounding a little surprised and more than a little disapproving.

Again, Daniel shook his head. "I can't tell her. She's barely dealing with everything as it is."

"Daniel, this is Leesia you're talking about." Sam continued, trying to be the voice of reason. "Mrs insightful 2001. Even if she doesn't know what it is, she'll probably have picked up that there's something being kept from her."

Daniel thought that over, and had to admit Sam had a point. "Things have been a bit…strained between us," he confessed, reluctantly. He gave Sam a pained and pleading look, briefly using his eyes to indicate Mitchell, who sat beside him.

Sam understood what he was silently telling her. Daniel was a private man and while he had no dislike for the Colonel, quite the opposite in fact, he wasn't comfortable airing all his marital problems in front of the new guy. Or more accurately, wasn't comfortable discussing his marital problems, full stop. She gave him an apologetic smile and made a mental note to discuss it later with him in private.

"I've been reviewing what's known about Kabechet since I got back." Daniel hurried on, trying to get the meeting back on track, to get it over with as quickly as possible so he could get back to Leesia. He had left her at home, so he could attend the briefing. Not only did he believe that she was in no fit state to come in, but he didn't want her to know what was being discussed. Not yet anyway. It seemed ridiculous to him to be having a briefing over his 'death' in the first place, but a mission report would just lead to more questions. Hence the private meeting. "To the uninformed eye it would appear that there's not a lot written about her. Something that I believe may have been done deliberately, by Anubis."

"To hide his research?" Sam asked.

Daniel nodded. "Exactly. I doubt he would want others to cash in on his findings. However, some things have either been over looked, or added by others later. For example, her 'mother' for use of a better term, was also known as; The Mother of Light."

Teal'c leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled. "Do you believe this to be an indication to Leesia Jackson's ascension?"

"I do." Daniel confirmed. "Anyone who could have witnessed it wouldn't have known what they were actually seeing and you have to remember that the Egyptian people didn't start recording their history for thousands of years. In that time the retelling of the stories could have drastically changed, but it's possible that it was meant to be taken literally. Mother of a being of light." Daniel paused, waiting for the others to respond.

They didn't.

He cleared his throat and carried on. "In most depictions of her she is seen as a snake in some form-"

"A symbiote?" Jack asked, not wanting to be out done by Sam's and then Teal'c's insight.

"Well, all of the females in the Ogdoad were depicted that way." Daniel corrected, causing Jack to slouch down in his chair in defeat. "However, the thing I find most intriguing is that in nearly every case she is shown with a feather and in one case in The Book of The Dead she is even shown to have wings."

"I trust we're nearing your point."

"The feather hieroglyph meant truth." Daniel said, with a slightly raised voice over Jack's interruption. "Strongly linked with Ma'at. Who wasn't an actual God as such, more of the concept of truth and justice."

"And the American way." Jack interrupted again, his focus on the pen he was currently twirling around his fingers.

"Obviously not 'American', but yes. She set the principles all others were guided to live by. It was said that she came after Ra and stopped the chaos and if she were to leave then chaos would once again rule. I think that Ma'at, or at least the concept of her, may have been linked to the start of the Tok'ra."

Jack threw the pen down. "Meaning?"

"Kabechet was good." Daniel said with a firm nod.

Jack eyed his best friend. "You trying to convince us, or yourself?"

Jack watched as the thought played across his best friends features, he hadn't meant his question to be a stumper. "Just tell me if she's a threat?"

Daniel turned his head quickly up to his best friend, in shock. "Of course she's not a threat," he snapped.

Jack nodded happily, "That's all I needed to know. Now if you'll excuse me," he said picking up the files. "I had a date with a shredder."

Daniel quickly bit back the comment he was about to make, realising just in time to stop himself, that asking Sam if 'Shredder' was her new nickname would be highly inappropriate, as well as embarrassing for the new couple as they hadn't yet announced their relationship.

The reason behind Sam's decision to quit the Air force and stay on SG-1 as a civilian had been the hot topic around the water cooler for days now. Many people believed it was because Mitchell had joined the team. Some thought it was to avoid the rivalry of having two Colonels on one team, but most believed that Sam and Mitchell had been in a relationship before he joined the SGC and now that they were working together one had to quit the military. The obvious choice being Sam, due to her background in astrophysics.

Briefing over, Jack headed into his office to attempt to make a dent in the never-ending pile of paperwork, Teal'c and Mitchell headed for the gym for another sparing session, which had fast become habit for them and Sam asked Daniel to walk her to her lab before he left.

Although he saw through the facade, Daniel agreed and the pair headed out of the briefing room together. Sure enough before they had hit the bottom step, Sam asked. "So, how strained have things become?"

Daniel's hands hid in his pockets and his focus fused itself to the floor as he strode along beside his friend. He really didn't want to discuss this, but he knew there was little hope of getting Sam to drop the subject. She was probably the only person who could 'out-stubborn' him. Knowing he had no choice in the matter, Daniel reluctantly opened up. "It's been bad since he was taken. She's had so much to deal with, losing the baby and my death and return. She's not used to all those different emotions and it's like she doesn't know who to cope with them all."

"It's been hard on you to." Sam pointed out, noticing that Daniel was only mentioning Leesia's pain and not his own.

Daniel shook his head. "It's been so much worse for her than it has for me."

"How d'you figure that?"

Daniel took a deep steadying breath, unable to believe he was about to admit this to another person. "Because she lost a baby, I didn't." He saw Sam's questioning gaze out of the corner of his eye, but she didn't interrupt, so he continued. "She was pregnant, I was zatted unconscious and when I came to she wasn't pregnant anymore…I never even saw him…To me, we lost a pregnancy, not a child."

"Doesn't mean you don't mourn for him just as much." Sam said sympathetically.

"My grief can't even compare to what she's going through right now. And that's why I can't tell her about her past. I can't add that on top of everything else."

"You're being too hard on yourself. I'm sure if you talk to her, tell her all this-" Daniel was shaking his head before she had even finished.

"I can't. Not now. She's not ready to know. And things are starting to get better," he said, thinking about how often she was now seeking him out for comfort. "I don't want to risk it," he said honestly. True, he still felt like he was walking on eggshells whenever he spoke with Leesia, but the tension between them had started to receded.

Sam didn't want to be hard on Daniel, especially not when he was beating himself up already, but she felt that she had to do all she could for the pair of them. If it wasn't for Leesia's encouragement, she doubted she would have had the guts to do what she had to do, to be with Jack. She owed her. She wanted to see them happy again and she believed that things would get better for them, if she could just get through Daniel's thick skull and make him see that keeping his wife at a distance wasn't helping. "Daniel, Leesia is a strong woman, stronger than either of you give her credit for. With you to help her through it, I'd bet that she would cope if she knew."

"No offence, Sam, but you don't know what it's like. You've lost a parent, but that doesn't compare…_trust me_." He knew it was a harsh thing to say, but it was the truth. He had lost both his parents and a wife, and while both where too painful to bear, it was but a drop in the ocean compared to loosing a child. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be callous. I know you're trying to help."

"It's alright." Sam replied a little too quickly. Jack had said something similar to her, while warning her to let Daniel and Leesia deal with things in their own time, so she had been somewhat prepared. However, she was surprised to find that Jack had actually managed to phrase it kinder than the linguist had. "You've got a lot on your mind right now."

"Actually, I think the problem is exactly the opposite." Daniel said with a small laugh. The past week he had devoted all of his time to researching Kabechet, but that was now done to death and he wanted something to occupy his mind. He wished he could have taken Jack up on his offer to go to Antarctica and help the team down there, but he couldn't leave Leesia now.

As a mutual workaholic, Sam could understand that much. "Is there anything I can do?" she offered.

"Not unless you've got a time machine hidden in here somewhere." Daniel said, only half joking as he glanced around the gizmos that littered Sam's lab, surprised to realise that he had been too preoccupied with their discussion to have notice they had even arrived. He glanced at his watch. "I should really be getting back to her."

Sam nodded. "Just promise me that you'll think about telling her."

"I'll think about it," he told her, but he already knew what he would decide. When she was more accustomed with her grief, then and only then would he tell her. And nothing would convince him otherwise.

…

Leesia was panicking. Desperately wondering where it had all gone wrong. It had started innocent enough. They had been making love. The way he was looking up at her, a mix of deep love, reverence and lust, was sending fierce shivers along her spine. She had wanted to move faster, but his long fingers were firmly closed around her hip and kept her at the slower, steady pace. A pace that matched the rocking of his hips, and told her he wanted to take things slow tonight. She was happy to abide by his wishes and took pleasure in knowing that she was pleasing him.

She spotted the moment his eyes glazed over, and wondered, as she always did, what was going through that beautiful mind of his. Judging by the sudden and drastic shift in his expression it wasn't good.

She leaned forward to give herself some more leverage and ground herself down, while clenching her internal muscles around him, trying to refocus his current trail of thought. He groaned, although whether in pleasure she wasn't sure.

Then his hips had stilled.

It was not unlike Daniel to let his busy mind get the better of him, distracting him so completely that he was hardly aware of what was happening around him, but he had never done it while they were making love before. And this was the first time in a long time, that he hadn't been hesitant in his approach, the manner of his touch telling her what he desired. It had filled her heart with hope. She didn't want the moment ruined.

She had let her hands flatten on his stomach and enjoy the feeling of his muscles tighten and flutter under his skin. Trying to allow the tingles to refocus his thoughts for her. But as her hands had grazed over his arms up to his wrist, he had violently jerked away from her caress, his eyes flashing with fear and loathing.

"Sorry, tickled." he had claimed. She didn't believe him, but before she had a chance to question him further he had suddenly gripped her and flipped them both over.

She had always preferred making love this way, his weight upon her, close enough that she could feel his every heartbeat against her breasts. It only took a few deep gentle thrust for all her concern to be thrown from her mind, replaced by the pleasure he was giving her.

However all her concerns had come back as soon as they had finished and he had leaned down to kiss her, but it had been nothing more than a brief peck, before he had practically sprinted from the bedroom. "I'll be right back." he called, almost irately over his shoulder as he left. His speed and tone letting her know that he didn't want to be followed.

She stared at the doorway he had just disappeared through, in stunned silence. What had gone wrong? Was it her? Had she done something wrong? What was he keeping from her?

She heard the shower start. That was not his usual style. There was defiantly something wrong. She followed him into the bathroom, intending to demand the truth from him, but the manner of his posture paused her. His shoulders were hunched forward, curled around himself in protection. His head was pressed against the wall, his eyes closed tightly. Whatever it was that was occupying his thoughts, it was troubling him deeply. She wouldn't let him suffer in silence, but as she approached, she heard him speak.

"Will you go away already?" His voice was almost too quiet too hear, but every word punched a hole in her wounded heart.

Fighting back tears, she fled from the bathroom.

…

The cool tile against his forehead was a pleasant contrast to the steaming water that cascaded over his shoulders and down his back. Daniel closed his eyes and tried to get control of himself. Despite the time that had passed, his breaths were still coming in heavy pants and his heart was still pounding a hard tempo against his ribs.

'_Cant let that happen again!'_ He told himself forcefully. _'Might have gotten away with it this time, but there's no way that she's not going to notice if it happens again' _And that would lead to questions, questions he didn't want asked and ones he certainly didn't want to answer.

He sighed out a long frustrated sigh. _'Who am I trying to kid? Of course she's going to notice something amiss…Since when do I dash straight off to the shower straight after we make love.'_ He was usually too spent to do anything other than roll over, pull her against him and fall asleep. And truth be told, he liked waking up with that woody aroma, proof of their lovemaking, still lingering on his skin the following morning. No, rushing straight to the shower would defiantly alert her that something was wrong. The best he could now hope for was that he had successfully managed to fool her when he had faked his own orgasm.

With his head buried against her shoulder, he hadn't had to worry about his expression giving his deceit away. He had made all the right noises, made all the right movements. And how many times had he brought her to climax, while he had desperately sort for his own release, before accepting that it just wasn't going to happen. Three? Four? There would be enough moisture pooled between her legs for her not to notice that none of it was his. Yes, he was confident he could get away with that…_ 'That is if I can get rid of this damn erection before she comes to investigate.'_

He cursed that they had switched to quarterly jabs. If they were still using condoms than he would have something to blame his lack of an orgasm on his de-sensitivity. Just as quickly as the thought had accrued to him, he pushed it aside. It wasn't their current method of birth control that was the problem.

He stared down at himself, still in his semi-erect state. "Will you go away already." he snapped, under his breath. It was proof of his deception. Proof of his con, that stood proudly from between his hips. One look at that would be all it took to bring to light the fraud that he had just committed in the bedroom. He shook his head, and then rubbed at his forehead. _'Great, now I'm talking to my penis. Danny-boy, you're losing it.' _It was those blessed tingles that were still coursing through him, that kept him aroused, despite the dark thoughts that swarmed into his mind. He needed to relax, clear his head.

'_Dammit, it wasn't fair!' _He wanted to scream, or punch something. Why did this have to happen now? The drug-laced mist was long since out of his system. The wounds well healed, so not even scars remained. The compulsory therapy completed, filed and stored. He was physically and mentally over the whole ordeal. Had been for a very long time. He had put these demons to rest, years ago…Or so he had thought, before tonight. Now was not a good time for a relapse.

He could feel the wedge between them. It had been getting steadily deeper since their wedding night. He couldn't let this be another nail in the coffin of their relationship. He couldn't, he wouldn't let this drive them further apart. He was over it. It was his past, her past and he refused to let it cloud their future. No, he had to keep this from her.

She had looked breathtakingly beautiful, swathed in the subtle moonlight that streamed in through the bedroom window, as she writhed above him. The light and shadows working together in harmony, to accentuate her curves. Her hair swaying gently against her shoulders and naked breasts in response to her movements. He had one hand on her hip to keep her pace slow and steady, wanting them to take their time and enjoy every moment. With his other hand, he gently cupping and massaged her breast, feeling the weight on his palm change as she repeatedly rose up and sank down on him.

'_Beautiful'_ he had thought as he watched her. It was easy to see how she had once been thought of as the Goddess, Kabechet. He had fantasised about this during his puberty. Other boys had had fiction characters of movies, shows and books to dream about, but he had grown up with the tails of the many different gods and goddess of Egypt. Therefore, it was only natural for them to become the source of his fantasies during his time of sexual awakening. And, now he was married to one, he was making love to one. _'Oh, yeah, this is the stuff fantasies are made of.'_

In his aroused state, he hadn't seen the warning signs flash through his mind, when his thoughts had taken the dangerous turn.

An actual Egyptian Goddess in his bed. That sort of thing didn't happen every day. _'It did once before'_ his brain had stubbornly reminded him and his heart had skipped a beat. _'Oh, God, don't think about that!…Not now!' _he had desperately pleaded with himself. But it was too late. The memory had stubbornly implanted itself in the foreground of his mind and he couldn't shift it.

Hathor.

It hadn't helped that at that precise moment, Leesia had leant over him, running her hands up his stomach, over his chest to his shoulders. With his mind distracted, he had hardly noticed that he had raised his arms over his head, in response to her movement, and she lightly traced over his biceps, up his forearms. It wasn't until she had pinned his wrists to the pillow above his head, that he was thrown back to full awareness.

He had violently fletched. Subconsciously, yanking his wrist out from under her light grip. His fist had balled, instinctively coming between himself and the woman riding his hips in self-defence.

Even in the dim light, he had seen her eyes flash with hurt, before settling on concern. She stilled. "Daniel?"

"Sorry," he had murmured, running his hands up her back, so he could pull her down to lie on his chest. He hid his face in the hair so she couldn't see the truth written on his face. "Tickled." he had told her, hoping, praying that she would believe him. It was a lie at the worst, a flimsy excuse at best, but it was all he could come up with at the time.

He had deeply inhaled the scent of her skin, her hair and tried to focus on the tingles that proved who she really was. But the damage had been done.

Daniel stared down at himself and felt his jaw drop open. His chest, stomach, arms, thighs and even his groin were cherry red. Had he really scrubbed himself that hard? He hadn't been aware of doing so. _'Crap!' _She was defiantly going to notice this.

When Daniel slumped back into the bedroom he was surprised to find Leesia sitting up on the bed, arms folded across her chest, glaring at him. The expression she wore, one of confused anger, instantly telling him he hadn't been completely successful in keeping her in the dark. Although exactly how much she had figured out, he couldn't be sure. Quickly, he turned his back to her, to hide the redness of his skin and rummaged through his draws for a t-shirt. "You okay?" he asked warily, needed to know how much she had guessed.

"No," she answered honestly. "Something is troubling you."

Daniel tensed. He couldn't let her know. There was no way that she would be able to cope with knowing about her past right now, not in her fragile state. No matter what, he had to keep this from her. He pulled his t-shirt over his head. "What do you mean?" he asked, trying to sound innocent, while stalling for time to think of an alibi.

Her eyes narrowed, not impressed with his pretence of playing dumb. "You have been cut off. You have hardly left your den in a week. You refuse to allow me to help, or even to inform me on what you are working on." she listed off, her voice becoming more speeded and angry as she went. "What is going on?" she demanded.

"It's nothing, just some old research I wanted to go over," he told her as he pulled on his boxers. Now with the redness of his skin hidden from view, he turned to face her, trying to stop his arms from wrapping around his waist, it would be a dead give away that he was uncomfortable. "It's all in ancient Egyptian. You wouldn't have understood any of it." It wasn't a lie, he was just omitting certain details, but that didn't stop him feeling guilty. He wanted to tell her the truth and hated having to keep things from her, but it would be selfish to do so.

"Do you expect me to believe that?" she snapped. "While you often get distracted during research, you have never distance yourself like this before."

"You're reading too much into this. It's just research."

"Do not take me for a fool, Daniel."

"I'm not." he insisted, cursing himself for not being able to think of an alibi for his actions and for not being discreet enough to prevent her from noticing in the first place. "Can we talk about this later?"

"It is later, Daniel. Your behaviour has been a near constant for the last week. Is this- is this because I do not wish to have another child with you?" It was the only thing she could think of that could explain his sudden and drastic shift in behaviour towards her. It was also the only thing she could think of that would explain his reluctance to talk to her. Of course, his good heart wouldn't want her to feel guilty and his self-sacrificing nature would cause him to keep it to himself, but she wouldn't let him suffer because of her.

"What? No," he insisted, stunned that she had jumped to that conclusion. "I told you, whatever you want is fine with me."

"Please do not lie to me Daniel."

"I'm not lying. I under-"

"You have previously informed me of your desire to be a father and have a family." she quickly interrupted him, not wanting him to have the chance to attempt to deceive her further. This was the only thing that made any sort of sense to her. Research and distraction wouldn't cause him to run from their bed and scrub himself raw. He was disgusted by her. The only thing that had changed, as far as she knew, was her refusal to bear his children. He deserved better. "…I cannot give you that…I will pardon your vows if you wish."

"Vows?" Daniel repeated, almost dumbfounded. "Our wedding vows? …Ar- are you suggesting we get a divorce?" He barley managed to get the words out, his voice breaking on the last word.

Her lower lips started to tremble. Forlornly, she nodded.

He stumbled back away from her, unable to believe what he was hearing. "How can you say that?" he demanded angrily. "How can you even _think_ that?"

"How can I not?"

"You have _no _idea what I-" he broke off, biting his tongue against what he nearly said. Every possible end to that sentence that he could think of would only make the situation worse. He was outraged that after everything they had been through she could be that quick to give up on them. Shaking with rage and still biting back all the angry words he wanted to throw at her, he quickly yanked on his jeans. He had to get away, quickly, before he had the chance to say something that would effectively end his marriage.

"Daniel?" she called to him as he made to leave.

Silently and without looking back at her, he paused in the doorway.

"Where are you going?"

"I just… I can't deal with this right now."

There was only one place he could think of going. He had turned it down to stay with Leesia, but that was the last place he should be right now. Grabbing his jacket and keys, he ran from the house. Within seconds, he was behind the wheel of his jeep and with a screech of tires, he speed away from the house. Quickly, he tugged his cell phone out of his jacket pocket as he pulled out onto the main road. He hit speed dial one. Three rings later Jack answered.

"Still want me on the Antarctica team?" Daniel offered the second he heard his friend's voice.


	3. Chapter 3 Lost and Found

**Chapter 3 ~ Lost and Found**

"But why do _I _have to do it?" Jack whined, pressing his head back in the pillow in defiance.

Sam sat up so she could look her lover in the eye. "Because I've already tried and Teal'c is off world," she insisted, pulling the sheet up to cover her exposed breasts when she noticed his eyes had travelled south.

'_Busted,' _Jack thought, quickly shooting his gaze back to her face and giving her an impish smile.

"Besides it was you that let him go," she continued, "and he'll listen to you."

Jack wiggled to sit up on his elbows. "You have met Daniel right?" he asked with raised eyebrows. "You know the guy who's been on your team for oh 'bout eight years now, was a bit geeky now kinda rough around the edges, big on his rocks, has a habit of coming back from the dead. Any of this ringing a bell?"

Sam gazed down at him disapprovingly, refusing to act into his charade.

"Anyway, this guy," Jack continued, despite her lack of participation. "He's never listened to me in a month of Sundays. What makes you think this time will be any different?"

"Because you've been through what he's going through," she pointed out. "You're the voice of experience, he has to listen."

Jack huffed out a loud exhale; this morning was not going how he had planned. "Alright, fine." he conceded. There was no point arguing. He had learned very early on, that while he may be the boss in the mountain, if there was a boss in this relationship, it certainly wasn't him. Not that he was complaining. "I'll talk to him, but I'm not promising anything. You know how stubborn he can be."

"Thank you," she said, wrapping the sheet fully around her and rising off the bed.

Jack, however, did not intend to let her get away from him that easily.He shot his arm out and caught hold of her wrist. He rolled, using his weight to flip her back onto the bed and underneath him.

"Jack!" Sam panted in surprise, suddenly finding herself gazing up at a pair of joyous brown eyes dancing with mischief.

"You know," he mused, lightly running the backs of his fingers up and down her arm, "most girls would use the art of seduction to twist their man's arm."

"Is that a fact?" Sam smiled up at the man whose fingertips were currently tiptoeing over her collarbone, making her heart flutter.

"More of a conjecture," he said, focusing at the task at hand. "And you know...practise makes perfect."

"Thought you didn't like clichés," she teased.

"I'm prepared to make an exception," he whispering into her skin. "One of the many things I'm prepared to do for you." He lowered his lips to greet hers in a sweet kiss that made her toes curl.

…

"Daniel." Jack greeted cheerily, pleased to hear that it was his best friend's voice on the other end of the line. Every time that red phone rung he couldn't help but be a little panicked. "How is Antarctica?"

"Uh, chilly." Daniel said simply.

"You don't say."

"How's things back there?"

"Same old, same old. Bit dull for once, actually. Sam just got back from overseeing the repairs to Prometheus. Teal'c is off with Bra'tac, trying to patch up talks between the Tok'ra and the Jaffa. Why they're bothering is beyond me. And the word is that the system lords are throwing a tantrum because Ball is taking up all of Anubis's old territories."

Daniel chuckled, "Well, we knew someone would."

"Yeah. Is there something important you called about or did you just want to hear my sweet baritone voice?"

"As pleasing as your auditory canals may be, that isn't why I called. I need you to bring a few things with you. I'm faxing over a list now." Sure enough as Daniel spoke, the fax machine purred to life.

"This is a few things?" Jack asked dubiously, as he studied the paper that had just been spat out. Daniel's list was nearly the whole page long. "I hope you don't expect me to know what half of these things are."

"Leesia will know what they are." Daniel assured him, his tone turning hollow.

Jack didn't miss the change, saw his opportunity and took it. "Speak of the devil, she's missing you, ya know."

His statement was only met with silence.

"Daniel, you still there?"

"Yes Jack."

"You hear what I said?"

"Yes, I did."

He waited for Daniel to respond.

He didn't.

"And?" Jack snapped impatiently.

"And what?"

"And, talk to her."

"No." Daniel's tone was soft, but firm and edged with discomfort.

Jack scrubbed his hand roughly over his face. "Ya know in all the years I've known you I don't think I've ever seen you be this stubbornly pig-headed before."

"Well, she started it."

"Oh, that's mature! What's up with you two? I know you've both been through the ringer, but I never thought that you would start taking things out on each other."

"She offered me an out, Jack." Daniel said defensively, so quietly he almost missed it.

"As in…?"

"A divorce."

"What?" Jack shot back, unable to believe what he was hearing. "You're sure?"

"Believe me, it's not something I'd misinterpret."

Jack scrubbed his free hand over his face, suddenly able to understand his friend's sudden departure. "If I'd realised that there was an ulterior motive behind you wanting to go down there, I would have thought twice about letting you."

"Well, then I guess it's lucky for me that you didn't. If I'd stayed I would've said something I would have regretted for the rest of my life."

"Did you stop to think that maybe doing a Road-Runner down there, you've given her the wrong idea."

"She couldn't get a more wrong idea, no matter what I did, Jack."

"This is not one of those situations that going to go away by sticking your fingers in your ears and humming as loud as you can."

"I know."

"So…Talk to her."

"I can't."

"You can talk yourself out of any situation and she doesn't she deserve to know the truth?"

"Yes, she does." he agreed. "But what am I supposed to say? 'Gee, sweetheart, not to kick you while you're down, but you used to be a Goa'uld and were tortured to death by your own father'." Daniel snapped sarcastically. "I'm sure that'll go down well."

"You might want to leave off the 'gee'." Jack mused, causing Daniel to huff in irritation. He wasn't in the mood for jokes.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Daniel said in a resigned tone and with that, the line went dead.

Jack replaced the receiver and contemplated what to do next. Plan A: Try to get them to talk had failed. It was time for Plan B: Lock the two of them in a room, with padded mallets if necessary, and let them fight it out. Of course, to manage that, he had to get them on the same continent.

Idea in mind and list in hand, he made his way to level 18 and Daniel's lab and arrived just in time to catch the tail-end of Sam's speech to his stubborn best friends wife.

"Daniel is a brilliant man, but he's still a man. And men just don't think the same way we do." his girlfriend concluded. 'Girlfriend', the thought still made him smile too widely. He had to watch that, not everyone knew and he could think of a few that wouldn't approve.

Leesia couldn't help the look of disappointment when she saw who it was that waltzed into the office. Jack didn't miss it, even though she quickly hid it with a smile of greeting.

"Daniel called." he told her, blunting taking the conversation straight to the point. The smile fell from her face, and was replaced with a look of fearful hope. "He asked if you could get these things together," he continued, handing over the list to her. "And wanted to know if you would join him. Apparently there's so much to go over down there, that he could use some help."

"He should have considered that before he left without a second thought," she snapped, although her anger quickly disappeared and she looked up at Jack with a look of worried curiosity. "What did he say?"

"It's not what he said, it's what he didn't say, that bothered me. He's on the breakthrough of finding the lost city of the Ancients. He should be as excited as a kid on Christmas day morning and talking my ear off at a million miles an hour."

"He was not excited?"

"Hardly even mention it." Jack told her and she dipped her head, mournfully.

Jack refused to feel bad for giving her the guilt trip, not if it meant they could get the chance to rectify their problems. Daniel wouldn't have fallen for it, he knew Jack too well, so Leesia was his weak link. If he could just get her to go with him, he was confident they could kiss and make up. He had to do something. Sam would most likely put him in the doghouse for letting Daniel go to Antarctica in the first place. "So wadda ya say?" he asked Leesia optimistically. "Wanna take a trip down south and turn someone's frown upside down?"

…

Piloted superbly by Major Sheppard, the helicopter flew low over the snowy wasteland. From his position alongside the pilot, Jack swivelled around to face Leesia who sat behind him watching the scenery fall away behind them, as they soared toward the Ancient outpost. "I guess now is as good a time as any for a little confession."

The former Ancient turned her attention from the view out the side window, to eye Jack carefully. "Confession?"

"Daniel doesn't exactly know you're coming."

Leesia's brow creased with confusion. "You told me he asked for me to join him."

"Yeah," Jack said, drawing the word out guiltily. "That was a bit of a lie."

"Which bit?"

"Uh, all of it." he admitted sheepishly.

…

For what felt like the millionth time in the past week, Daniel moved back to the star chart and searched through the dots, looking for a constellation that matched the markings he had discovered. In over two million years the planets could have realigned vastly due to stellar drift, but no matter how hard he searched he couldn't seem to find a constellation that bore any similarity to the point of origin he had discovered. Why didn't it work? He had all seven chevrons! Arms folded, he glared at the star chart, as if it was somehow the maps fault that he couldn't figure out the final symbol.

"Doctor Jackson?"

Daniel inwardly sighed at the latest distraction and biting back a curse, he turned away from his workings to the young man who had called him. "Yes?" It came out harsher than he meant it to.

Lieutenant Ford didn't seem to notice. "We just received a radio transmission from General O'Neill. And I quote; 'let Daniel know I'm bringing Sparky'. Their ETA is ten minutes."

Daniel's chin dropped to rest on his chest. "Jack, Jack, Jack," he groaned irritably under his breath, shaking his head. He didn't know why he was surprised, since when did Jack ever do what he was asked.

"WATCH OUT!"

The startled cry immediately snapped Daniel's attention to the outer chamber. An active Ancient weapon drone zipped through the cavern, ricocheting off the walls as the gathered scientists dived out of its path. Out of control, it bounced off every surface, leaving sparking flaring debris in its wake, before locking on and zooming up the open elevator shaft.

"Oh, god, no!" Daniel gasped out, eyes wide, jaw dropped, as he realised exactly what the drone had just targeted.

…

"Okay? Happy now?" Jack asked Leesia sarcastically, as he replaced the radio.

From behind him, Leesia folded her arms across her chest grumpily. "Happy is not how I would describe my current mood. However I feel better knowing Daniel is now informed about my arrival, rather than being tricked into a false sense of security."

Jack doubted it would be better for her. After all forewarned was forearmed and the last thing she needed was Daniel on the defensive.

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a panicked voice sounding over radio "All inbound craft, we have a rogue drone that could seek a target on its own. Land immediately and shut down your engines. This is not a drill. I repeat-"

"It's too late. Hang on." Sheppard shouted, as he pulled the chopper hard to the right, barely avoiding the drone that was streaking towards them, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. It rocket passed them like a bullet, quickly circling back, locking onto the helicopter as a target.

"Break right." Jack said swivelling around in his seat in attempt to keep the bright yellow flare in his line of sight.

"I said, right!" O'Neill shouted, when Sheppard banked up to the left.

"I'm getting to that, sir."

"Leesia, get your mojo going and do something about this!" Jack shouted.

"I am trying," she said, attempting to focus on the speeded missile. "It is too fast!"

…

Daniel rushed from his lab, barely seeing the chaos of the outer chamber. He dodged left and right, around the many dismayed personnel that were slowly picking themselves up off the floor, into the what McKay had unimaginatively dubbed the 'chair room'. His heart was in his throat, preventing him from uttering a single word, as he came to an abrupt halt inside. He could only watch the scene before him, in helpless horror, while a horde of panicked thoughts swarmed and swirled in his head. _'No, no, no, no, no, no, this isn't happening! This can't be happening. Oh God, please, no.'_ The weapon held the capability to wipe out an entire Goa'uld fleet, what hope could a single helicopter hold? _'No, not now! Not like this!'_

Elizabeth Weir ran inside just behind him. From the chair Becket was panicking, making excuses and Rodney's irritated vagueness wasn't helping the situation either.

Only minutes before, Daniel had been cursing Jack for bring Leesia here, and he still was, only now it was for very different reasons. His fear of seeing her and his worry about what was to be said, completely replaced and surpassed with his desperate need to simply know she was safe and alive. Would the fates really be that cruel to take her from him as well? And drag his best friend along also? _'Oh God, Jack, get her here safely.'_

Weir was talking to Becket now, her words irritatingly calm and clear, too slow and precise to make sense through Daniel's desperate fear. How could she be so composed? Didn't she know how precious the people in that chopper where to him? He wanted to grab the panicked doctor and yank him out of the chair. Would that stop the weapon? With no mind to interact with would it shut down? Or would that remove the only chance they had of controlling it? Briefly he cursed himself for not listening when Rodney was blithering on gene sequences and whatever else it was he was ranting out.

Becket has his eyes closed now in concentration. Weir's soothing tone continued, aimed only for the sweating Doctor. Daniel envied him. He had someone to calm him. He had a soothing presence…and he could do something about the nightmare that was unfolding. He wasn't forced to stand there, helplessly watching, powerless to shape the outcome.

Panic gripped, he held his breath and prayed.

"Major Sheppard is reporting the drone appears to have been incapacitated. General O'Neill's helicopter is unharmed, and on its way again. Seven minutes out."

Daniel looked round at the bubbly lieutenant, to cautious to look hopeful. "'ut?" was all his emotionally tight throat could choke out. He coughed, clearing his throat. "What?" he repeated.

Ford beamed, "Frog in your throat, Doctor Jackson?" he teased, but bit back further banter. The good Doc Rock had suffered enough, it would be too easy and yet too cruel to wind him up now. He repeated the message.

Seven minutes away and it would take another ten for the elevator to descend down the mile long hole through the ice, but Daniel waited impatiently at the base. His arms refused to be still, they wrapped around his waist for a short while before switching to grip his hips only to move again, fisting his hands deep in his pockets, all the while his foot tapped anxiously. His breath caught in his throat when he heard the whirl of the engine roll to life and his heart skipped a beat when he caught the first sight of the bottom of the elevator. Finally, the sight of his beloved wife, wrapped up tightly against the cold, met his grateful eyes.

"Are you okay?" Daniel asked, pulling her into his arms the second she stepped out of the elevator.

Too stunned to speak, Leesia merely nodded against his chest and pulled herself deeper into his embrace.

"I'm fine too by the way. Thanks for asking." Jack grumbled and Daniel caught his eye, as he clung to his wife like the last life raft.

Seeing the couple needed a moment alone, and hoping that this was the end of their silent treatment towards each other, Jack quickly side-stepped them to accost Dr Weir, who was making her way over to greet them, and dragging Sheppard along with him, he lead them both away. '_Oh, yeah it's all about Plan C: Live through a near death experience.' _he thought smugly._'Yeah, Plan C works every time.' _

Reluctantly, Daniel pulled away from their embrace. "I guess we should talk."

"I guess we should." she replied shakily. There was a weariness to her voice that he didn't like.

"Uh, I've been working through there." He gestured off to his left. "It's not exactly private, but it's the best that's available right now."

She nodded in agreement and followed him through to the room he had been using as an work space while he had been here. It's Ancient walls where covered in tacked up Star charts and covering one side was a large white board housing many symbols and Daniel's untidy scrawl. Across the top he had drawn and labelled seven chevrons in thick black ink.

For the first time the silence between them was uncomfortable. Daniel wrapped his arms around his waist and stared at his feet, desperately trying to think of a way to break the tension that was heavy in the room and building with ever passing moment. He peaked at her briefly, over the top of his glasses. She was looking around the room, taking in everything…except him. Her arms folded across her chest, her brow furrowed, her lips tight. Even her body language was closed off.

Leesia could almost feel his gaze upon her, but she refused to break the silence. Refused to force him to answer the questions she was longing, yet scared to ask. He had been deceived into their meeting, before he was ready and she guessed that demanding the truth from him now would most likely cause him to retreat further.

"You're angry with me." he blurted out, surprising both of them. He had meant it as a question and was shocked when it came out as a statement. She was surprised he had broken the silence so quickly. She knew how stubborn he could be at the best of times - which this certainly wasn't one - and with personal matters his stubbornness usually turned the talkative linguist mute.

Slowly, she turned to face him. "I was." she admitted quietly, her voice cracking.

Daniel waited silently for her to continue, to explain. He tried to be patient, but after a while, when it became clear that she needed a prompt to carry on, he took a guess. "For leaving?"

"Yes" she answered honestly, but then quickly added, "No, I was angry before that. I just did not realise it at the time."

It was a admission, one he hadn't been expecting. And certainly not so openly. _'Okay, now we're getting somewhere.' _"Since when?"

Unable to meet his expectant eyes, she started studying the floor with intense concentration, but when she spoke, in the smallest of whispers, her voice broke with pain. "Since you died..." she said, the wavering of her voice so much more prominent than it had been before. Sensing that there was more to it, Daniel stayed quiet. "…It was not that you died, it was that you planned to die."

"Now, that's hardly fair!" he quickly shot out. "I didn't plan on dying, I just-"

"Didn't plan around it." she snapped accusingly.

He sighed guiltily, fisted his hands in his pockets and toed at the floor. There was no possible way he could deny that.

"You knew that knowledge would be deadly if it was not removed, yet you did not consider a way to do so. Even without your experiences with your descension, you have first hand intellect after witnessing Jack's experiences-"

Daniel kept silent and let her rant at him, clearly she had been bottling this up for a while and needed to get this anger off her chest. He was just grateful she wasn't questioning him about what he was keeping from her. He take anything she could throw at him, and more, if it meant being able to keep that secret.

"Jack had even showed you how," she continued, the speed of her speech increasing. "You merely had to follow his example and create a power source strong enough to allow an eight symbol address, and yet you-"

"Eight symbols?" Daniel interrupted, his head jerking up. Suddenly his eyes went wide with the thrill of realisation. Quickly, he turned to the white board behind him. "Yes! That's it!" he exclaimed excitably, snatching up a black marker pen. "The address isn't wrong, it's incomplete." Hastily, he added the symbol for Earth to the end of his list of seven chevrons, clearly marking it with a double looped eight. Daniel spun back around to face her. "Oh I could kiss you!"

She was staring at him with a look of bewildered hurt. _'Crap! That was lousy timing to have a revelation.' _He scolded himself for his lack of tact and stepped back towards her. She closed her eyes, turning her head away from him. He sighed, scolded himself again and gently took hold of her chin, tilting her head back up to face him. "Sorry. That had been alluding me for…" he broke off. How long he had been searching for the address for Atlantis, though important, was not relevant to this conversation. "You have my undivided attention."

Her head dropped while she re-gathered her thoughts. She had been on a roll, the heated words falling from her mouth, honestly, but with little thought needed. It was not easy to resume her momentum now it had been broken. She sighed, not wishing to admit, even to herself, that his brief excited manner had abated some of her anger. "I know I also have been isolating myself." she continued, at a much slower, calmer pace then before. "I am not used to such emotions and had little idea how to cope with them, but with you it was like you were actively seeking ways to part yourself from me."

"It wasn't like that." Daniel said, shaking his head. "This is what I have to do… there are bigger things out there then us. I thought you understood that."

"I do, but you have to understand, that to me…" She swallowed hard. "…there is nothing bigger than 'us'."

"So you decided divorce was the answer?" he asked, his eyebrows raised awaiting her response.

"I thought it was for the best."

"How?" he shot the word out, in distressed disbelief. "How, how, how could that possibly be for the best?" His arms were flailing wildly, punctuating each 'how'.

"You want to be a father, to have a family. Now, I am no longer able to give you those things, it is the most logical course of action."

"Screw logic!" he barked. "I'm talking about your feelings, logic has no place here. Do you…" He sucked in a deep breath and forced the words out. "Do you want a divorce?"

After what felt like an eternity, she shook her head in a silent 'no'.

"Then, why?" he asked earnestly, unsure if he really wanted to know the answer.

"Daniel, I know that your overwhelming need to do what you conceive as the right thing would force you to stay in the relationship, despite it not being in your best interest."

His jaw popped open and he stared at her in stunned silence for a long moment. The notion seemed so unbelievable he was finding it implausible. Did she really believe that? "You think I would only be with you because of an act of nobility?" he gasped out, with wide eyes.

"I am confused as what to believe, but I know it is a possibility."

"Oh Leesia, no." he said softly shaking his head. He thought quickly, worried about saying the wrong thing and making things worse. Hiding had lead her to the wrong assumption, only the truth would do. Stepping up close, he gently tilted her chin to face him. "I won't lie. I wanted a family. I did, but want is very different from need… and I need you. There's nothing noble about it. It's pure selfish need."

She was silently gazing up at him, with a look of confusion and doubt. "But you left."

Daniel sighed, his arms going automatically around his waist, as he thought of the best way to explain it to her. "Do you remember what you said to me on our wedding night?"

"I said a lot of things, Daniel. You are going to need to be more specific."

"About me tying us together in every way possible."

Thoughtfully, she nodded. "I said that there was no need, because I was already yours in every way there was and that I would never leave you."

"So with that in mind, can you imagine how I felt when you offered me a divorce?"

She hung her head guiltily. "It was not my intention to hurt you."

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad." he said softly. "I only brought it up to try and explain why I came here."

"You were running from me before that…you ran from our bed."

"That wasn't because of you," he quickly reassured her. "That was…" he sighed and shook his head. "It's complicated. But I swear it had nothing to do with you not wanting children."

Again she turned away from him, with a huff of sceptical irritation.

"You don't believe me?"

"I want to," she told him honestly. "But I cannot understand what else could cause such detachment."

Daniel shuffled his feet and gazed around the openness of the room, wishing there was a door to close. She needed an explanation, but he didn't want the details of what Hathor had done to him overheard by anyone who could choose to walk in.

"You are uncomfortable?" she asked him softly, noticing his look towards the many scientists working just out of earshot.

"Yes." he admitted.

"Would you prefer to discuss this when we are back home, in private?"

Her offer caused Daniel's mouth to pop open in surprise. "You'd do that?" he gasped in amazement, staring at her. "Wait, I mean?"

"Of course." she said, slightly shocked by his reaction. "I have no desire for you to suffer. I only wish for the truth."

"You'll have it." he told her decisively, with a nod. "Soon as we're home. I promise." he vowed, gratefully wrapping his arms around her. She tucked her head under his chin, pressing her cheek to his chest and he heard a tiny contented sigh. She amazed him. Able to give that level of trust and understanding to him, no questions asked. He pressed his lips to her hair and swore to himself that he would do what ever it took to be worthy of her blind faith in him.

"Okay, Daniel," Jack said, as he strolled causally into the room. Judging by his perfect timing, Daniel assumed that the older man must have been listening just outside the doorway. "Let's get to the part where you start talking real fast."

"Ah, yeah," Daniel stammered. Quickly turning his attention to his friend and the two others, Weir and McKay, that wandered in behind him. "I think I've found Atlantis."

Jack eyed him. "I thought you said this was Atlantis."

"'Was' as in past tense." Daniel quickly clarified. "That is, this is only a part of it. I figured the Ancients packed up the rest of the city and left between five and ten million years ago."

"And just flew away?" Jack asked with a sceptical tone.

"Yes." Daniel confirmed, ignoring the fact that Jack was being his usual sarcastic self. "But, I have a gate address. It's further away than we thought, but we can go there."

Leesia smiled, as she watched them in thoughtful silence, seeing the twinkle in Daniel's blue eyes, as the group bantered over the use of the ZPM and Ancient genes and personnel. Daniel was excited about his work again. That was how it should be. It gave her confidence that however wrong things had gotten between them, they would be righted soon enough. Her smile deepened.

…

The lower floor of the SGC was a flock of activity. Hand in hand, Daniel and Leesia manpowered the maze of prepping personal and packed equipment that nearly blocked the overcrowded hallways. Together they bounded up the stairs into the busy control room, just as an announcement informed everyone that the sixth chevron had encoded.

"Sorry we're late." Daniel said, as they took their place alongside the proud looking General. The lost city, Atlantis, the holy-fricking-grail of the Stargate program had been discovered during his reign, Jack had ever right to look proud.

"Nice." Jack beamed, noticing his friends entwined fingers and Daniel's ruffled hair. Evidently Daniel took 'kiss and make up' in the literal sense.

"Thank you." Dr Weir replied, either assuming that Jack had been referring to the speech she had just given her new team, or she was choosing to ignore the couple's rumpled clothing and flush of their cheeks, so not to embarrassing them.

McKay rushed up the stairs, as the technician announced the seven Chevron was also encoded..

"This is it." Weir stated, her right leg twitching so fast it seemed to be trying to escape, sounding an equal mix of excited and nervous at the same time. The whole SGC seemed to pause, their attentions fused to the giant disc as it span back in the opposite direction in a flurry of whirling and steam.

"Chevron eight is locked!" the announcement came moments before the whoosh of the splash back, that engulfed the gateroom in its bright, wavering glow.

The others stared in awed silence as Weir ordered, "Send the MALP." and on queue the machine juddered to life. Under the sanguinely watchful gaze of the dozens of personnel it slowly rolled up the ramp and through the shimmering puddle, disappearing from their view.

"We have MALP telemetry." the technician informed them and they all turned to the multiple monitors that dotted the busy control room.

"What are we looking at?" Weir asked staring at the dark screen.

"The radar indicates…a large room?" McKay told them.

"Structurally intact?" Daniel questioned sounding surprised, without removing his eyes from the overhead monitor. After all it had been millions of years since they had 'moved'.

"Environmental sensors says there's oxygen, no measurable toxins. We have viable life support." McKay told them, standing to take his place by Elizabeth's side. "Looks like we're not getting out of this."

Jack turned to the ambivalent woman. "Doctor Weir, you have a go."

"Thank you sir." Weir smiled and made her way down to the gateroom and her assembled team. The throng of staff started through the event horizon, but Elizabeth paused at the threshold and turned to look back up to the control room. She nodded a farewell to the assembly gathered to see them off, before bravely tightening her grip on her pack and turning she stepped through the Stargate.

Hopefully Daniel pointed to the still active gate. "Jack, it-it's not too late for us to-"

"No." Jack cut him off.

"We could just grab our-"

"No."

Leesia gave her husbands hand a squeeze. "Be patient, love. Our time will come." she whispered.

"I just don't understand why he wont listen." he whispered back in annoyance.

"Maybe because you argued with him about it for nineteen of the twenty hours it took us to get home."

"I wasn't that bad," he argued. He paused for a brief second, before adding, "…was I?" rather unsurely.

She smiled mischievously. "Did either of you get any sleep on the flight?"

Daniel nodded slowly once. "…No."

"Then that should answer your question."

"All clear. It looks good." Colonel Sumner's voice announced over the radio.

Jack leaned over the intercom. "Expedition team…move out."

While the personnel moved through the 'gate, Jack went to retrieve the 'bon voyage' present and Daniel took up the seat vacated by McKay.

"This is amazing." he said wistfully as he gazed at the monitor. Gradually more of the area was lighting up, revealing more and more of the Ancient city. "Don't you feel like we should be there?" he asked feeling Leesia's presents just behind him.

"I feel like I should be with you," Leesia replied, her hands coming to rest on his shoulders. "wherever that may be."

"Don't you think _I _should be there then?" Daniel clarified insistently. He was after all the foremost expert on the Ancients that the SGC had and therefore the best person for the job.

She bent over so she could wrap her arms lightly around his neck and press her cheek to his. "No, I agree with Jack on this one. I think youshould be with your friends, your family."

"Traitor." he teasingly snapped at her, running his hand lovingly over her arms.

She giggled and pressed her lips to his temple.

…

Daniel stoked the fire, added another log and sat back on his haunches to watch the flames cradle and lick the wood. With the fire throwing a warm glow over his face and bare chest, he seemed a picture of serenity, totally at peace. On the inside, however, he was a wreck. He was about to shed light on the two things he really wished he could keep her in the dark about; what he had learned about her past and what Hathor had done to him. His stomach was twisted with nerves and his heart was so high in his throat that he could almost taste it. The serenity that they had been in, during their remaining time in the Ancient outpost and the journey back, was only the eye of the storm and the time that he had been dreading was fast approaching. As soon as Leesia was finished in the bathroom the lull would be over.

He leant to the side and propped himself up on one arm, the other draped atop his raised knee, he stared into the blaze and contemplated what was to come. He hoped that the heat and gentle soothing light would be a source of comfort for her, and for him, while this talk took place, but he knew that ultimately it wasn't going to be easy on either of them.

The small creak on the floorboards behind him let him know that she was out of the bathroom. He tensed, the time had come. He wasn't ready.

"Enjoy your bath?" he asked, trying to sound casual, as he tilted his head back as she lowered to kiss his lips.

She settled down beside him, wrapped in his rode, her damp hair cascading down her back. "I think I finally managed to wash the chill out of my bones." she said, returning his smile of greeting in kind.

Having spent so much of his life living in the dessert lands of both Egypt and Abydos, where the heat during the day was brutal, yet the night often saw the temperature drop into the minus, Daniel was very accustomed to drastic shifts in temperature. Leesia, on the other hand, was not used to such harsh conditions and he had noticed her shivering more than a few times since they got back on US soil. She was still too thin for his liking and he was more than a little concerned that a chill might be setting in. Hence the fire, that he had stoked to a roaring blaze.

"I thought the fire might help with that." he told her, noticing the red tone to her skin. Her bath must have been very hot.

"Thank you," she said with a contented sigh.

"But if it's too hot we could move back." he offered, glancing and hocking his thumb over his shoulder to gesture at the sofa behind them.

"No it is perfect," she assured him.

"You're sure?"

She smiled and nodded.

"Hungry?"

"No, I am fine."

"Thirsty?"

"No."

"You're sure, I could make some coffee, or I think there's some wine, if you'd-"

"Daniel," she interrupted, leaning forward to touch his arm. "I am fine."

He dropped his head. He was stalling for time and they both knew it. Yet, she didn't push. She didn't urge. She just sat alongside him, in patient silence and waited for him to start.

The soft crackles and pops of the fire were a pleasant comforting sound. They were safe and warm and together. He had made it as comfortable as possible. Now came the hard part.

"I don't know where to begin." he admitted with a sad smile.

She thumbed across his forearm, in a calm and comforting back and forth motion. "Start when you are ready," she said patiently, "and with what is the easiest for you."

He snorted. He'd never be ready, he knew that. He just hoped she was. As for the easiest place to start, that was simple; Hathor. Although it would be the most uncomfortable part for him personally, it was preferable to him than seeing that horror he was in no doubt he would see on her face when he told her about her past. He would rather relive his trauma a thousand times over than cause her any hurt.

After a steadying breath he looked up at her. "Did I ever tell you about Hathor?" he asked hopefully. There was still plenty of time they had been together that he still didn't remember. He hoped telling her about Hathor would be one of them. He really didn't want to have to go over it again.

She nodded. "She once managed a foothold at Stargate command by drugging all the men in the base."

"Was that all I said?"

Leesia thought hard. "Jack killed her?" she questioned, wondering what Daniel was struggling to say.

His hope was failing fast. "I didn't tell you what she did to me…personally?"

She staring up at him with wide concerned eyes and slowly shook her head.

Daniel sighed in disappointment. There was no easy way out. No way to avoid the details. "The drug she used, it was powerful." he reluctantly began. "It got into your head and stopped you from thinking rationally. The only thing that made any sort of rational sense was to do whatever she wanted."

"What did she want from you?" she asked carefully. The way he had said 'me…personally' was stuck in her head. She didn't like the look he was wearing. There was too much buried pain swimming in his dual blue pools.

"From me?…My DNA." he scoffed. "She called it 'the code of life'." he added in a sardonic tone.

A confused frown appeared on her forehead and her head tilted to the side questionably.

"Too vague?" he asked.

She nodded, the frown remaining.

He exhaled heavily, _'Yeah, there really was no way to avoid the details'_. "My sperm, Lees." he told her, trying hard to detach himself from hearing his own words. "She wanted me to help her make more Goa'ulds."

"She wanted you to…breed with her?" Leesia questioned, unable to believe that was really what he was saying. She had to have miss interpreted him, but the way he seemed to tense with her words told her that she had in fact guessed correctly.

He nodded and turned his attention to stare into the centre of the fire, not wanting to see the look of pity that he knew would be all over her face. "They called it rape, on account of I was intoxicated, but it took me a long time to see it that way."

"Why?"

"Because that sort of thing isn't supposed to happen to a man," he told her honestly, picking absentmindedly at the carpet. "Certainly not by a woman anyway. I felt like I should have been stronger, like I should been able to fight her off… and I felt like I had been unfaithful to Sha'ra." he admitted, his gaze fused to the flames before him, refusing to look anywhere but the glow. "I did try. When I realise exactly what it was she wanted I tried to stop her. I did." He could see it clear in his head as he spoke. Grabbing her arm, forcefully. Straining to hold her at bay, while the compulsion coursing through him pulled him to serve her, 'his queen'. Then the mist had clouded over and he could do nothing but obey.

"It was useless." Daniel admitted, hating the helplessness tone in his own voice. He flicked the tiny bit of fluff he had picked from the carpet into the fire, in frustration. "The next thing I knew I was flat on my back. I can't remember if she'd stripped me or if I did it myself, either way it was the same. I was sprawled out, naked and she was - she was." He paused, needing a moment to get hold of himself.

Most of the memories had faded over time, but that one - her hair tickling his bare chest, making his skin crawl, while she worked him into an unwilling arousal. - that one had stubbornly taken root and would not leave him, like it was tattooed on the inside of his skull. And when she had first taken him inside of her… Bile rose in his throat at the thought and he pressed his fist to his mouth, trying to hold onto the contents of his stomach. It had never been an easy thing to remember, which was why he tried not to. Once the mandatory therapy was over he had never spoken about it again. And a year later when it was mentioned to him (by Hathor herself nonetheless), he was able to shrug off the incident with little more than a sarcastic comment and a couple of deep breaths. He was over it. Or so he had thought until the other night.

He shook his head, as if he could physically shake the memory from his mind.

"Daniel? Are you okay?" Leesia's silken voice, edged with concern and love, was like a ray of sunlight through the bleakness of his memories. Like so many times, her presence, her closeness was a strong source of comfort. And he knew that with her support he could make it through anything. This would be no different.

He quickly nodded, "It was a long time ago."

"Take your time, don't stress yourself."

Again he shook his head. He didn't want this dragged out, he wanted it over. Bravely he continued, rushing the words out to get through this moment as quickly as possible. "There was nothing I could do but lay there, trapped inside my own body, while she took what she wanted from me. There were moments during, where I could think somewhat clearly and I screamed at myself to stop her. But every time I struggled…she would hit me with another dose. I don't remember much after that. From what I've been told since, either I went into shock, or she used too much of that drug on me, probably both, and it left me catatonic for a long while. When I regained my senses, she was gone."

He sighed out a long breath of relief as he concluded the sordid details. The worst part for him was over and he was surprised to find that he actually felt…better. Not good and far from great, as the worst was yet to come, but opening up had actually helped ease some of the tension in him.

"Daniel." she sighed sympathetically. It all made clear sense to her now. The way his eyes had glazed over, that look of fear and hatred, the way he had jerked away from her touch…and why he had scrubbed himself raw in the shower after. "This is what has been troubling you all this time?"

Daniel paused, thinking. It would be so easy to just say 'yes' and let her believe that his shift in behaviour was all due to Hathor. That single word would hold at bay all the revulsion that he knew she wasn't ready to know. It would be so simple, easy to spare her from that pain…and yet it would be a lie. A lie when he had promised her the truth.

Slowly and very regrettably he shook his head. "No, that was just the other night, I had…I guess you could say I had a flashback and I couldn't shake it." he stated slowly.

"I thought it was because of me," she said sadly. "Because I did not want more children. I thought I disgusted you."

He stared at her speechlessly, as her head dropped. Guilt gripped at him. He had kept the truth from her intentionally, but he had never wanted that action to cause her any hurt. "Look at me." he told her, taking her chin and gently encouraging her head up. Slowly she turned her eyes up to him. "I love you." he said firmly. "And there's nothing that can change that. Do you hear me?_ Nothing!_"

"Yet you did not trust me with the truth." she said softly, it wasn't an accusation, there was no anger or hurt in her words, only concern and confusion.

"It had nothing to do with trust." he said, feeling worse by the minute. "I trust you, completely. But I believed it would only hurt you to know...what I found out while I was ascended."

"It is bad?" she asked him fearfully.

He nodded, trying to suck in some courage through a shaky breath. He blew it out slowly. "It's about your past."

Quick as a flash, Leesia pressed her fingers to his lips, halting his speech and he looked up at her with wide questioning eyes. The surprise of her actions barley masking the warming tingles that pulse into his full lips from her touch.

After a few confused blinks, Daniel asked, "Do you remember?" around her fingers.

She shook her head. "No…But I remember being grateful that I would not know. I wanted to forget, I didn't want to know. Does that make sense?"

Up until a short while ago Daniel would have said 'no'. His own curiosity and thirst for knowledge drove him to find his memories that he had lost. Not to do so would be an alien concept to him. He wanted the answers, no matter what they cost him, but Leesia was not the same. And knowing what he now did, it made perfect sense to him for her to choose to forget her past. "Yes, it does."

"Do I need to know?"

He thought carefully; Anubis was dead, he couldn't hurt her anymore. It was a past that could do nothing but hurt the present. There was nothing to be gained from telling her. She had chosen to forget, what right did he have to nullify her decision. "No." he answered honestly.

"Does it pain you to keep it from me?"

"No." he told her again. From the moment he had first laid eyes on her he had felt like he had to protect her, keeping this from her made him feel like he was doing just that.

"Then, unless the need for me to know occurs, do not tell me."

His brow came down hard in confusion. "You're sure?"

"Yes. I gave you my heart long ago and you have sheltered and warmed it with your own since. I trust you and know you would only do what is best."

Daniel could do nothing but stare in awe at her, stunned by her complete and total understanding and trust in him, suddenly wishing that he had shown her the same trust. "I'm sorry. I should have spoken to you."

"You have nothing to be sorry for," she said, raising up on her knees so she could cradle his head to her chest. "You acted out of love. I cannot be angry and you should not be regretful."

"Still, I should have spoken to you, but you have to understand, Lees, with you…" He pulled back, slightly so he could see her face. "There's so many times when you can make me completely tongue-tied. Language is my strength, but with you it's useless. I'm helpless with you. You turn my brain to mush and you set my heart into spasm, and it…it's wonderful."

Her eyes jumped up to his, locking with awe and love. "Oh, Daniel." she gasped out, her eyes filling with tears.

She raised her hand towards him, intending to stroke his chest, but froze, not knowing how he could react to her touch after what he had just shared with her.

And just like that, any good feeling he had felt, disappeared. This was exactly what he had been dreading would happen, exactly why he hadn't wanted to tell her. He didn't want her to hesitate, or fear to touch him. There had been so much distance between them, he didn't want this to add to their troubles. She had been openly tactile from the moment he met her. It was part of who she was. He couldn't abide that being taken from her by something that happened so long ago, by something so evil. "Don't, Lees, please," he said, taking her hand and pressing it to his own cheek, he leaned into it. "I couldn't bear this to come between us."

"I'm sorry, I just-"

"I know." he said calmly, "but you don't need to worry. Like I said, it was a long time ago. I guess it's not something you ever completely get over, but I'm not going to cringe or flinch when you touch me, so please don't shy away from me." He gave her his best reassuring smile, beseeching her to believe him.

When he saw the doubt in her eyes start to wane, he promptly pushed himself up to met her lips in a tender kiss. She jumped slightly, startled by his sudden action, but almost instantly responded to the feel of his lips. As their mouths waltzed against each others, he gently eased her hand lower, down to his chest and pressed it firmly over his heart. "See, it's still me," he said around her lips.

He understood her caution, had the situation been reversed he would have been so very aware of his actions, constantly worried he was going to make her suffer with a careless word or gesture. But he had to show her, prove to her that such was not the case.

"Make love with me, Leesia." he gently asked. He needed to, was sure that they needed to. The last time they had been intimate he felt as if it had been tainted. And not just by unpleasant memories, he had deceived her and ran from her. The thought that that was the last time they had made love was intolerable. He needed to feel her, love her and re-write their previous exploit with a more satisfying experience.

His heart speeded up in anticipation as he felt her gently pushed against his chest. Following her guide, Daniel leant back to rest on his elbows and she rose up to her knees to hover over him, as he stretched his legs out getting comfy. Her hair fell from behind her shoulders, cascading around his face, curtaining the pair of them in their own concealed world. As he pulled her to straddles his thighs, Daniel reached for the tie on the familiar robe and tugged it open, completing the illusion their of solitude. There was just the two of them, and the heat and snaps of the fire, bathing the lovers in its warming glow.

When she reached for the button of his jeans she paused staring up at him, her soulful eyes questioned, shining with concern and uncertainty. His relaxed smile and lust darkened eyes was his promising answer, as he wiggled his hips encouragingly.

Reassured, she eased him out of his clothing, siding both his jeans and boxers off his lean legs. Daniel dropped his head back and felt his pulse increase, as he felt her lips met his ankle. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on simply feeling, as she kissed a path from his calf up to his inner knee. Feeling each heated breath tickling his hairs and her hand mirroring the movements of her lips on his other leg. He sucked in a quick breath as she slowly she kissed a path across the top of his thigh to his lower hip, letting out a long groan as she bypassed his rapidly expanding member.

He noticed there was a difference to her touch. It wasn't the hesitance that he had feared, no, she was her usual confident self, but there was something new to the way her fingers and lips were caressing his flesh. A difference that he couldn't quite place. It vaguely reminded him of her first explorations of his body, when she had been learning about touch. There was the same painstaking attention paid to every dip, every curve, every freckle on his body, just more…determined? more…forceful? Each touch was sparking her adoration filled tingles down into his muscles, deeper to his bones.

He couldn't help the shiver that ran up his spine as she worked her way up his sides and over his ribs. He was disappointed when she missed his nipple and moved over his pec to his shoulder. When she made her way back he groaned in frustration as his collar bone and then his throat were also ignored, her attention instead turning to his jaw.

He quickly turned intending to grab her tantalizing lips with his own, but was paused when her hands came up to gently cup and hold his face.

She gazed at him, the glow of the fire setting a warm golden tone to his tanned skin, his full kiss bruised lips parted and his chest rising and falling heavily as he drew in quick shallow breaths, his tantalizing blue eyes nearly dilated to black with need. "So beautiful." she whispered, lovingly.

His deep blush, that flushed his cheeks and down his chest, and shy smile added to the effect.

"I was about to say the same thing." he confessed, before she kissed her way around and repeated her journey on his other side. Again, his nipple was passed by, as was his lower abs.

He realised that she was skirting around each of his erogenous zone. As if she had mapped out his whole body and was only stimulation his less sensitive areas. Was she teasing him? Testing him? Either way the result was the same. He wanted more. His over sensitive skin was screaming for her attention and he whimpered in desire, as she passed by his groin again, down his other thigh.

And suddenly he realised what the difference in her touch was…it was possessive. She was reclaiming him, every inch of him. Making him hers, theirs, strengthening their connection, re-bonding them to each other. Kissing away his pain, stroking away his suffering and replacing it with her love and devotion. Yet she was doing so in a way that gave him authority and time. She wasn't controlling him, she was serving him. And somehow he knew that it would only take one word from him, or a single uneasy movement, for her actions to cease. It was exactly what he needed at that moment. How she understood that, without him having to say a word amazed him. He didn't think it was possible for him to love her more than he already did, but at that moment he felt his heart burst with undiluted adoration for the woman setting him on fire with her auspicious touches.

As if she had heard his thoughts she whispered against his hip, "I love you, Daniel."

"Oh God, I love you, too," he gasped out hoarsely as her lips began to make their way across to his stomach, over his pubic bone. His muscles tightened in response. "So much." She was working up a storm inside of him and he knew that if she moved…just a little lower…he would explode.

His groan of disappointment, when she starting to make her way up over his navel, quickly turned to one of stunned longing, as he felt her lick over his nipple. She teased, then blew gently, sending a waft of cool air over his heated skin and he felt the tightening as his nipple instantly peddled in response to the stimulation. He watched her as she moved her mouth across to its twin, her pink tongue coming out from between her lips to tease and then suck this time to create a matching pair. Did she have any idea what she was doing to him? Did she know the heat she was causing was turning his insides to liquid fire? The seductive twinkle in her eye told him, yes, she knew exactly how well she was driving him to distraction.

Her fingers gazed down, as her lips worked up, planting searing kisses over his collar bone, up until she claimed the sensitive spot over his pulse point on his throat. As much as he wanted to concentrate on the movement of her lips, her tiny finger, slowly heading groin-wards, were also demanding his focus. Slowly, too slowly…way too damn slowly, her hand slid down on its southern trail, creating warm vibrating tingles that penetrated deep into him. Again she skirted past where he most longed for her attention, lower still, till her fingers found where his thighs touched. Panting heavily, he parted his thighs, opening himself up to her wondering playful touch. Her hand travelled lower still, over his testes, massaging as she went, grazing lightly over the sensitive underneath. God, what this woman could do to him had to be illegal. His erection was getting painfully hard and she hadn't even touched it yet.

She moaned deep in her throat, as he twisted, capturing her lips with his own and lightly tracing his tongue across the lower one, seeking entrance. He loved that sound. It seemed to ignite his desire further than he thought was humanly possible. He was fast losing his self control. Consumed with need, he wanted nothing more than to scoop her up and rush her to their bed. But, the bedroom, just a few feet away, seemed too far a trek on muscles that were quivering fast in pure desire.

Daniel abruptly gasped, as she traced a petal soft finger tip, lightly over his swollen manhood. From base, up following the prominent vein, to leisurely taunt around the head. The gentleness of her touch a sharp contrast to her previous firmer strokes.

Subtly, she eased slightly back, her lips encouraging him to follow. He readily complied, quickly sitting up and wrapping his arms around her to hold the kiss and her close to him. He chased her onto her back, her legs encircled his hips, pulling him down onto her, into her.

But Daniel had other ideas. He had no intention of letting her nearly driving him out of his mind, without getting some payback of his own. As she wiggled beneath him, guiding him where he truly wanted to be right this second, he pulled back slightly, readjusted his position before letting his weight settle.

He softly brushed his lips against hers, surprised and eagerly delighted to find her mouth instantly open to his. He sucked at her full lips, before sliding his tongue inside, twining with hers, while he caressed her from her shoulder to hip slowly all the way down and back up again.

Leisurely, Daniel kissed and sucked at her delectably delicious skin. Taking his time to fully taste the planes of her throat. And when she purred and he was happy with his ministrations he continued working his way down, kissing over the swell of her breasts.

She was writhing beneath him, hips and legs in near content motion. "Daniel, please." she begged, as her fingers dug into his shoulders. Her erratic movements caused his lips and nose bumped against her overheated skin as he continued his southern journey, but he was not going to be stopped, and he took a firm hold on her hips to steady her. "Daniel," she gasped, straining against his grip. "Please…I need to feel you…I need to feel you inside of me."

Despite her desperate pleading, Daniel continued his explorations. Kissing, caressing and massaging her in every way he could think of and when he finally sort the source of the heat radiating strongly from between her legs he gasped at how aroused she was.

"Jeez, Lees." he breathed as he shifted to taste her. She was writhing again now, giving little mews of barely contained longing, far past the point of being ready for him.

Her eager fingers pushed into his hair, tightening into fists, unsure whether to pull him up or hold him closer. She cried out, her back arching off the floor, as she felt his teeth ever so tenderly nibble on her most sensitive nub. And as she felt him suck, his name repeated fell from her lips in a pleading mantra.

Her hands were pawing at him, encouraging him higher and he pressed a opened mouth departing kiss just below her navel, before he pulled himself over her to impatiently claim her lips.

With a tiny twitch of her hips, he was inside and they both had to halt their frantic kiss to gasp out a surprised and highly pleasured moan.

He wanted to take it slowly, but she felt too damn good, like a hot wet fist, clenching and massaging him and she had worked him into almost a frenzy. His insides were pulling tightly together, tightening with need, with mind-numbing want. He pulled back and drove forward, with enough force to nudge her backwards. Her head tossed from side to side, as again and again he drove into her

He couldn't hold back any longer. The building need was growing too strong, demanding more. Releasing his grip on her shoulders, he raised himself up on out-stretched arms, using his new angle and extra body weight to turn his thrusts more powerful and urgent.

She was panting erratically, squirming beneath him as he pounded deeper, "Confutuo, Daniel…ui utun, confutuo mai… ui utin!"

Her heated words, breathed out in laboured pants, sent a serge of pleasure rippling through him. Concentrating in the building tension in his groin and then rushing outward, consuming his body with a flood of pleasure from the tips of his clenching toes to the top of his tingling scalp. He took hold of her calf and pulled her leg up, hocking her knee over his shoulder and moaned loudly at the new depth of the penetration.

When he saw her clench he knew she had reached her peek. With her body's natural reaction to her orgasm internally massaging him was more than he could take and as her lower back arched up against him, he snaked his arm around her, pulling her into his urgent thrusting.

Then he was soaring, heavenly sparks flared behind his tightly shut eyes and with his face contorted in a blessed silent scream of undiluted pleasure, he joined her over the edge of ecstasy.

Spent, panting heavily and feeling utterly boneless, Daniel collapsed onto her when his shaking arms couldn't hold him up any longer.

Loving his weight fully on her, tight enough to feel his racing heart battling against hers, she wrapped her tired arms around his shoulders and used what seemed like the last of her strength to pull him closer still, if that was possible.

The floral citrus sent of her skin mixed with the musk of their activates assaulted his nostrils as he dropped his head to rest on her shoulder. Daniel felt his heavy eyes slowly drop closed, bathing in the relaxing feeling of Leesia's delicate fingers carding through his hair and tracing patterns on his upper back and shoulders. It felt so good. So damn relaxing. He let out a long soft sigh as his body settled down.

"Daniel?"

"Hmm?" he said through a blissful sigh.

"We cannot sleep here, sweetheart."

"Not going to sleep." he murmured against her skin. He looked up at her, all sleepiness had disappeared, replaced with a twinkle of mischief in his blue eyes. "The evening's still young."

…

'_She's stolen the covers again.' _was the first thought that registered though Daniel's half conscience mind. Sleepily he groped for them with no luck. He gave up and snuggled his arms around himself and tucked his fists under his chin, trying to hang on to the last few precious moments of his dreams.

Something wasn't right. The bed felt wrong. Too hard. And where was his pillow?

"Leesia?" he murmured forcing his sleep ridden eyes to open.

The sight that greeted him was not their bedroom.

It was a white padded cell!

Padded floor, white rubber. Same on the walls. Even the door.

Daniel sat up suddenly, scanning the disturbingly familiar room as best as he could without his glasses.

"What the…"

…

A.N ~ I know, I know, an evil place to put a cliff-hanger. Mwahahahaha


	4. Chapter 4 Disturbia

**Chapter 4 - Disturbia.**

Nothing broke the void of clinical white padding of the rubber room that Daniel had awoken to find himself trapped inside. Even the security camera he spotted high in the far corner was pale and cold.

"Déjá vu." he said aloud absently, as he tried to recall how exactly he had gotten here.

Despite his abrupt jerk into consciousness, Daniel's mind remained fogged and clouded, protesting to its sudden forced awakened state, rather than the gentle Leesia snuggles and hot caffeinated beveraged ride into morning town it had been expecting. His head felt stuffed with cottonwood and far too heavily, a feeling that Daniel had spent way too much time in the infirmary to not recognize instantly as the after effects of a drug induced sleep.

With a downward glance with both his eyes and hands, Daniel found that he was wearing a two-piece white surgical scrubs, bare feet, and a flat medical bracelet clasped his left wrist, that housed his name and a patient number and little else. For the second time in as many minutes Daniel voice the phrase, "What the?" only this time he concluded it with a curse.

He was alone, whether that was a good or a bad thing he wasn't yet sure. He needed answers, there was only so much information his visual assessment of the space could give him.

God, he needed to get these drugs out of his system so he could think clearly and figure out how he had gotten here, and where exactly 'here' was. _'I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto'_, the voice inside Daniel's head, that sounded suspiciously like Jack told him, unhelpfully.

His brow crinkled and his lower lip jutted out as he pondered over the problem. The last thing he remembered, with any real clarity, was his evening spent in front of the fire with Leesia. Then a few slices of memories of the following morning and day. He remembered going into the SGC with her, vaguely recalled working in his office on… He clenched his jaw, doubling his efforts to force the details to the foreground of his woozy mind. There had been a briefing about…He'd argued with Jack regarding… He wanted to go to P3... He growled in frustration, pushing his fingers hard against his forehead.

Why couldn't he remember?

Approaching footsteps and muffled voices from the other side of the rubber-checked door, snapped him out of his disobedient reflections. Pulling his feet underneath him, he raised slowly on unsteady legs, readying himself for a possible upcoming fight or flight. He half expected to see Doctor Mackenzie walk in when the door was pushed inward, but the figure that appeared in the threshold nearly caused his uncooperative legs to fail in shock. Gripping hard at the yielding wall for much needed support, Daniel gawped at Leesia, dressed in a nurse's uniform, her chocolate locks tied back in a tight bun, as she spoke to a second person out of his view.

"That won't be necessary," she said, waving away an offer he hadn't heard. "Doctor Jackson is always on his best behaviour with me."

"Okay, we'll be right outside should you need us." a male voice he didn't recognize replied reluctantly, before she pushed the door closed behind her and turned to face him with a warm greeting smile.

"Good morning. Sleep well?"

With his jaw hanging open, Daniel could do nothing but stare stupidly at her. She didn't seem surprised with his reaction and carried on without getting an answer.

"How are you feeling today, Honey?" she said softly, in a patronising manner that made him feel like she was talking to a young child.

'_Honey?' _he thought, _'Since when does she call me Honey?' _Forcing his mutinous tongue and throat to work, he choked out, "What's going on?"

"A bit confused?" she asked kindly, with her patented questioning puppy head tilt, a characteristic he usually found adorable, but now it was only irritatingly unhelpful.

"To say the least." he chocked out, his wide-eyed expression glued to her face. She neared and as she did the name badge pinned above her left breast became clear to his slightly limited un-spectacled sight. "Lisa Smith?"

"Ah, good, you remember me then." she stated, looking more pleased.

His saucer eyes, shifted to a squint and his nose pinched. _'What kind of question is that? I'm not likely to forget._' "What's going on?" he repeated.

"It's Friday, time for your treatment," she said in a matter-of-factly manner, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and his confusion was un-justified.

"Treatment?" he repeated back to her, not likely the sound of that one little bit if the room was anything to go by. "No. This isn't right, Lees. None of this is. You're not a nurse, you're my wife."

"Oh, you're such a flatterer Doctor Jackson. Come on." she smiled bubbly, holding her hand to him.

His hand lifted as if on autopilot, clasping her small familiar hand in his, she smiled at his willingness and turned to tap on the door.

The door was pushed open by a bulky male orderly, his built accomplice hovering over his shoulder. He held the door wide as Leesia stepped out into the bright corridor, gently tugging Daniel along just behind her. The two aids fell in close behind, making him feel like a prisoner on transport, as she lead him off to the right.

A dozen situations with a similar feel to them popped into his head, fighting for first place in the ranking of 'most likely explanation'. A Goa'uld memory device pulling his committed time from his head and used it to recreate a hospital, just as Hathor had once done with the SGC? The gamekeeper chairs? Ancient induced dream state like Shifu had put him in?

None of them sat quite right with him and none of them answered the most troubling question of all: What was wrong with Leesia?

Seeing the watchful and near threatening nature of their escort in his peripheral vision, Daniel leaned in closer and kept his voice low so not to be overheard. "What's going on?" he asked yet again, he knew he was repeating himself, but she was still to answer the question. "What is this place? How did we get here? And where are the others?"

She glanced sideways at him briefly, bewilderment shining on her features as if she was unable to comprehend what he was asking. Her speech failed for a few heartbeats, before recognition dawned on her and her confusion turned to pity. "Oh honey, I'm sorry. I didn't realised." She slid her hand up to his elbow, rubbing his forearm in an act of reassurance. She softly continued, "It's okay. Short term memory loss is a common side effect of the treatments you've been having. It should be temporary and once you've completed your course the memories should come back in time."

"That doesn't answer any of my questions." Daniel pointed out. But it raised a hell of a lot of new ones, in his already over burdened mind. She wanted to reason this away on HIM loosing HIS memory? She was joking right? Did the word hypocritical mean anything to her? He bit back the snarky comments and everything else he was about to start to question as she lead him into one of the side rooms and his eyes speedily swept over the new disturbing room.

A hospital bed stood out in the middle of the brightly lit medical room, the focal point of the clinical grey environment. The far wall was lined with cabinets which housed a mass of pieces of electrical equipment. He recognised most, although not all, of the apparatus, having seen them in the infirmary and other medical centres before. But he froze, his heart skipping a fearful beat, as he clocked the leather restraints around the edges of the hospital bed.

Unaware or indifferent that Daniel had came to an abrupt halt just a meter into the room, Leesia patted the mattress that Daniel's eyes were unsettlingly glued to. "Pop yourself up here for me, Honey." she gently instructed, with a small smile of encouragement, before turning to appraise all of the gathered equipment.

A soft click from behind him made Daniel swivel round with a start to the doorway they had just passed through. The two aides stood either side of the only exit from the room, looking very much like uncompromising club bouncers. Their folded bulging arms and distasteful expression clearly stated that he could do this the easy way or the hard way, but either way he wasn't going to be given much choice in the matter. He couldn't run anyway. He wouldn't leave Leesia here.

Without another optional available, Daniel decided it was best to play along for now and in doing so hopefully he would get some much needed answers. He huffed in annoyance, but hopped up to sit on the bed as instructed, perching himself on the very edge.

"That was an awful lot of questions," she said wrapped a cuff tight around his upper arm. "How about we get this over with and then we can have a long chat over some breakfast?" she offered.

Again Daniel eyed the aids. She probably couldn't discuss what needed to be said with 'Bulk' and 'Built' hovering around like a bad smell he assumed. He nodded his acceptance of her offer "'Kay."

"'Kay," she repeated back to him appreciatively, patting him just above the knee, before taking hold of the small pump that hung from the velcroed cuff and squeezed it a few times, it tightened further around his bicep. She noted down her findings. "That's a lot better than last time." she told him, sounding pleased as she released the pressure.

"Last time? How many have I had?" he asked, unable to believe he had a good result considering how hard his heart was hammering inside his head. He would have assumed his blood pressure would be through the roof and dreaded to think how bad must it have been last time if this was a good outcome. The thought did nothing to calm him.

"Today will be your ninth one," she told him as she placed a thermometer device in his ear and took his temperature, again recording the figures. "Do you mind taking this off?" she asked softly, gesturing to the thin cotton top he was wearing.

"Why?" Daniel asked stubbornly, ignoring the warning look he got from the tensing aides.

She smiled sincerely. "I need to check your heart. You can keep it on and just lift it up if you prefer."

Fidgeting on the edge of the bed, Daniel considered it for a while. Ultimately deciding it didn't really matter. The thin material offered little protection, it's only benefit was to preserve his modesty. Besides, off it wouldn't hinder his movements, as it would do if it was bunched up under his chin. He tugged the top off over his head.

He noticed the subconscious little lick of her lower lip and slight up curve of the corner of her mouth, as she fleetingly glanced over his naked torso. She blushed when she noticed she had been caught checking him out and he frowned in confusion. Why would she be embarrassed? She had never been so before, it wasn't her way. Nudity in any form, didn't faze her, she wasn't restricted by human conformities. Besides, he was her husband for God sake, she had seen him in far greater state of undress and knew his body intimately, there was no reason for the shyness she was showing.

"Okay," she said through an easing breath. "Lie back for me." she instructed soothingly, as she pressed her hand to his chest, gently guided him onto his back. Daniel swung his legs up and complied, slightly reluctantly.

He lifted his head from the bed and watched closely, as she stuck a number of sticky pads on his chest underlining his heart and then two more below his collar bones, then fasten wires to each of them. She stroked his forehead, encouraging him to lay flat and then turned her attention to the wheeled device alongside her. After a few readjustments and fiddling, she checked over the printout and announced, "That's all good. Now Doctor Jackson-"

"Daniel." he quickly corrected. 'Honey' he could cope with - just about…sort of - but calling him by his title and surname was far too impersonal to be coming from his wife's lips in that formal way, and he was freaked out by her detachment as it was.

Hearing the slight anger to his tone, she nodded compliantly, "Okay, Daniel." gently, she lifted his hand, taking it in both of hers and rubbed across the back, alone the prominent vein. "Now, I need to put in an I.V line. Will you left me do that?"

An alarm bell rang inside his head. The act was going too far now. Quickly he snatched his hand back from her light grasp, firmly telling her, "I don't want any drugs."

Pushing themselves off the wall, the aids surged towards him threateningly, and Daniel lurched upright, readying himself as best he could. But before they could reach their intended target, she stepped between them and Daniel, holding her hand up in a halting action.

"Stay." she told them sternly, like a master ordering her disobedient pets. "I don't want him upset. These are the best results we've had."

Muttering under their breath and looking more than a little put out, they reluctantly backed up to their post, folding their arms grumpily.

With the drama avoided she turned her attention back to Daniel, her tone returning to the soft silk of reassurance that he knew and loved. "It's for the anaesthetic and a muscle relaxant." she told him. "They'll only last a few minutes and there will be no lasting effects I swear. Trust me."

He wanted to trust her. That silken voice that he adored had never lied to him, but his anxiety had a tight hold and he certainly didn't want to be unconscious in this situation, no matter how long.

He was off the bed and on his feet in an instant. "No, this is wrong. It's not supposed to be like this. What the hell is wrong with you?"

From his peripheral vision he saw the two aids closing in on him with speed. He braced himself for the impact, hearing Leesia's cries of protest, but they ignored her this time. He struggled as they grabbed hold of his upper arms, their tight grips biting into both his biceps. Desperately trying to twist free of their grasp, he felt his feet leave the floor and was dragged backwards. Towards the bed. Towards the restraints! Towards the drugs and the unidentified treatment he was about to receive and was still none the wiser about.

He managed to yank his right arm free from 'Bulk's' grip, just as he was slammed onto his back on the bed and gave the larger man a swift elbow to the gut, taking a small amount of satisfaction when he heard the air forced from the man's lungs. However the action distracted his attention from 'Built' and the other man took advantage, forcing Daniel's left arm down to his side and his wrist into the restraint. With the leather strap fastened, 'Built' speeded around to the other side of the bed to help his winded partner wrestle with the wildly thrashing archaeologist.

Through the commotion Daniel could scarcely make out Leesia's voice trying to sooth him, insisting that he calm and try to relax. As if that was possible for him at this time.

With the weight of two large men on his arm it was impossible for him to stop them securing his free wrist into the restraint. He kicked out at both men, as they turned their attention to his flailing legs, trying to gain a purchase on him. All the while Leesia's tiny hand was stroking over his upper arm and shoulder, in would what have been a comforting motion in a different situation. But there was no comfort to be sort here, not with both his arms trapped by his sides, thwarting any possible chance at escaping his unknown fate and two men pushing on his knees hard, to flatten his legs down onto the thin mattress.

Two against one, and the one being at a disadvantage, it was only a matter of time before he was fully restrained. Panting from exertion and anger, and now immobile, Daniel could do nothing but glare daggers at them.

"You alright, Tom?"

Daniel's eyes grew wide, when he realised it was Leesia that had spoken.

'Bulk' gave a quick nod, "I'm fine, little winded is all. He caught me off guard, won't happen again, Ma'am."

"Make sure it doesn't," she said in a harsh tone. "And I'm not talking about your carelessness. I will not have my patient upset unnecessarily."

"He was getting agitated." 'Bulk' (or rather Tom) said defensively.

"Yes," Leesia agreed, staring at him as if to say 'what's your point?'. "But if either of you bother to notice, in the four years that he's been here, not once has he ever shown any sort of violent behaviour, therefore your actions were not only premature, but also unnecessary."

Daniel didn't feel his jaw drop open, nor his eyes growing increasingly wide, as she continued to chastise the two men with the air a Victorian school mistress. It wasn't the way she was speaking, or even the fact that these two men were taking the verbal battering with their heads bowed, that surprised him, in fact he hardly heard anything she said. No, it was two of her words that echoed around in his mind and made his stomach twist with nerves to the point of becoming painful, that stunned him.

She had just claimed that he had been here for four years!

Four years?

Four years!

It wasn't possible.

To think that he might have lost the last couple or few days because of whatever drugs he had been given while he was here, wherever here was, that he could believe…maybe, but years? Four of them? That wasn't possible. It just wasn't!

He tuned back into the present to see Tom and co leaving the room, closing the door behind them. Leesia dropped her hand back down to her side, from pointing it towards the exit, muttering something under her breath that sounded like 'brains they were born with'.

Silently, he followed her movements meticulously, as she came back alongside him her attention on the equipment, studying her for any signs of aging. Any sign that four years had passed since he last remembered… He found none. She was identical looking to that of his last memory of her before he had woken up in that padded cell.

His eyes snapped down from her face as he felt her swab the back of his trapped hand with a cool wipe.

"Don't, Lees." he pleaded, seeing her readied a needle.

"I'm sorry," she said earnestly, and Daniel felt a sharp pinch, as she slowly and gently eased the needle into his vein, all the while he scowled at her with hurt eyes. "But this really is helping you. A month ago you weren't even able to respond to simple questions. Thanks to these treatments you've made more progress in the past few weeks than for the past few years," she said, as she taped the needle in place tenderly, before clipping a pulse oximeter onto his index finger.

"What is this treatment? Why do I have to be anesthetised?" he asked, as she started replacing the pads on his chest that had come away during his struggle with the aids.

She paused in her work to look him in the eye. "You really don't remember?"

He shook his head with a small shrug and she sighed looking annoyed. "Your gonna have a very small electric current passed through your head to induce a seizure. It'll only last a minute and you'll be out the entire time. You wont feel it." she promised.

"You're talking about electroshock!" he gasped out in fearful horror.

She pushed his sweaty bangs off his forehead, but he found her the usual calming effect her touch had was absent as she began attaching small pads around his hairline. "We don't call it that anymore," she told him while she worked. "Nowadays it done under controlled conditions." she said repeating the action on the other side of his forehead. He recognised the machine the new leads where attached to, it was a EEG for monitoring brain activity. "You'll feel so much better when it's over."

"That's why I don't remember?"

Reluctantly she nodded. "One of the side effects is amnesia, but your memories should come back given some time."

"I need to remember now. I certainly don't want to risk forgetting more. Don't do this." he pleaded.

Just then he heard the door open. Daniel raised his head to see two different men enter dressed in white medical overcoats.

"Please," Daniel whispered to her imploringly, grabbing at her clothes. "I don't want this."

She patted Daniel's shoulder sympathetically, then gently prising her uniform from his grip, she whispered, "Try to relax."

The first man moved behind Leesia and started checking a couple of I.V bags carefully, while the second, a balding man with overly thick glasses that gave him an owlish appearance, moved to the foot of the bed, reading though a file in his hand. "How is our patent this morning?" he asked Leesia, without looking up from the notes he was carefully studying.

"Vitals are good." Leesia replied. "Very responsive. So responsive in fact, that I was wondering if this was really necessary."

That made the Doctor stop reading, and he gazed up at her, looking completely taken aback. "You more than anyone should know that. You've seen the progress he's made."

"I know," she agreed, "but he's so much more aware now and he's requested to not have it done."

"I'm afraid that's not up to him." The Doctor told her.

"It should be," she argued, "especially considering how much more aware he is now."

Behind them the anaesthetist had halted his checks to watch the scene unfolding, looking equally as surprised by Leesia's protests as the Doctor was.

"He's also suffering quite severely with amnesia." she concluded.

The Doctor set down Daniel's notes and turned his full attention to the quarrelsome nurse, folding his arms across his chest to emphasise his displeasure. "I'm sorry to hear that, but I shouldn't have to remind you that he's up for re-evaluation next month. Or how likely the possibility of relapse is. Finishing the treatment course is his best chance of recovery."

"But-"

"Nurse Smith," he interrupted, with a slight raising of his voice, before she had chance to continue her argument. "if you continue to dispute my decision I can have you replaced for the procedure." His tone softened as he glance from Leesia to Daniel and then back again. "However I would prefer not to have to. He responds well to you, and I feel it would be better of him to have you here rather than another nurse he is not as comfortable with."

After a thoughtful beat, she nodded, conceding defeat and moved around to the far side of the bed. What choice did she have? Daniel would have the treatment whether he wished it or not and she would rather be there for him than leave him to face it without her.

"Now, Doctor Jackson," the Doctor said, turning to Daniel now that the situation had been resolved. "How are you feeling today?"

"Peachy," Daniel replied sardonically, meeting the man with a distasteful scowl. "but I'm sure that's something a little electrocution will fix."

Unsure of how to respond to the disrespectful manner in which his patient was addressing him, the Doctor turned to the anaesthetist, "Are we ready?"

Daniel gripped the bed, his knuckles turning harsh white, as the two men hovered over him. He tried to keep his expression neutral, refusing to show them one drop of the fear that was flowing though him.

Feeling Leesia's tiny warm hand rubbing over the back of his, he quickly opened his fist, blindly seeking comfort from her touch. She slipped her hand into his and he gripped it tightly. His breathing stilled, as he felt the cold rush of the anaesthetic entering his system.

With his gaze locked on her, Daniel fought against the heaviness that was increasing in his drooping eyelids. Already knowing it was a battle he couldn't win.

With one last "please" escaping his lips, he lost the war and drifted off into the blackness of unconsciousness.

Freeing her hand from his now lax grasp, she retrieved a bite block and gently inserted it into his mouth, while the muscle relaxant was administered.

Double checking the bite block was correctly situated between his teeth, she slipped the oxygen mask over his face.

There was a sharp buzz as the machine was turned on. In less than one second over 100 volts surged through his brain. She held his chin protectively as his jaw clenched, toes curled and body gently shock. The muscle relaxant eliminated nearly all the physical effects of the induced seizure, but it couldn't stop the strained groan that echoed from his throat. She knew it was only the air being force out of his lungs and that he wasn't in any pain, but the knowledge didn't stop the anguish she felt.

She had witnessed dozens of these procedures and saw for herself how much they helped the patents, but for some reason watching Daniel go through it was always…hard.

She turned her attention to the monitors to hide her face from the other members of staff in the ECT room. She couldn't let them see the tears fall, just like every time she had been here for his treatments. His blood pressure was high and his heart rate had significantly increased…

Yep, she hated this.

Just as she had promised him, the seizure only lasted a minute. When his body relaxed she rechecked all his vital signs, taking the opportunity to wipe her face as she did.

…

His head pounded, his jaw felt stiff, every muscle ached.

Groggily he forced his eyes open, blinking hard against the harsh lighting. He had a mask over his mouth and nose and was still restrained. A hand squeezed his and Leesia moved into his hazy field of vision.

He inwardly groaned, rolling his eyes then pinched them close. He knew that wishing it had all been some crazy, warped dream, or more accurately a nightmare, had been too much to hope for.

Gently lifting the mask from his face she asked, "How are you feeling?"

He snorted. After what had just been done to him, it was a stupid question. "Like I got zatted after the truck ran me over."

For the briefest time a look of concerned confusion appeared on her features, before it was quickly replaced with a more neutral perceptive expression. "Can you tell me your name?" she asked, as she pressed her first two fingers to his inner wrist, taking his pulse.

He signed irritably, he knew this routine, he had been through it before. But, he wasn't groggy from the anaesthetic, not in the way she was thinking anyway. She didn't remember what a 'zat' was, but he answered anyway. "Daniel Jackson."

She cover her name badge with her hand. "And can you tell me mine?"

He locked his eyes onto hers, fixing her with a stubborn glare. "Mrs Leesia Jackson." he said poignantly.

Staring up at the blank expression that had replaced the concerned one she had worn, he felt his hope dig a pit in his stomach and set up refuge. "Please tell me that you know that. I have to figure out what's happening, how we got here and that…"

"Doc-" she stopped herself with a sad, smile. "Daniel, you need to get this fantasy out of your head. You've made remarkable steps forward-"

"It's not a fantasy," he quickly interrupted, giving her the most serious of serious gazes. "We are married. I don't know why you don't remember that, or in fact how we got h-." He cut himself off. Why was Leesia here? If this was some mission gone drastically wrong, she should still be safe and sound back at the SGC, waiting for him to come home. If she was here, wherever here was, then could this be a foothold situation?

He'd only seen Leesia, he didn't recognize any of the Doctors or the aids. Where the others here too? If he was going to get to the bottom of this he needed more information and he needed Leesia to believe him.

He was distracted when she tugged at the tie at the top of his pants, loosening the waist. "What are you doing?" he asked, watching her as she covered him over with a white cotton sheet.

She smiled sweetly. "Oh honey, I know the other nurses don't cover you, but what can I say I'm just an old fashioned type of gal." she slipped her hands beneath the sheet and took hold of his pants at the waist band. "Lift your hips for me, honey."

"Why?"

"I'm just going to get you nice and clean and then we can get you some breakfast. Waffles, your favourite. Would you like that?"

He ignored the question, it was hard enough to concentrate on his thoughts without having to think about his grumbling stomach as well. However he found his hunger easier to ignore than her touch as she gently stripped off his pants and began bathing his skin under the sheet with a warm damp cloth.

"W-w-what's the date?" he gasped out, willing his body not to react when she manoeuvred the cloth up his thigh. He may have had bed baths before, but he had been more than mildly out of it at the time. He had not had one while he was so aware of what was happening. And certainly not given by his wife and her beautifully arousing hands. It was not easy to ignore and focus on the problem at hand.

"It's November ninth." she told him, concentrating on where her hand was beneath the sheet that covered him from ankle to neck. Knowing he would be stiff after his restraint and treatment she left his arms and legs for last so she could cleanse and massage some life and relaxation back to his limbs once he was clean.

Meanwhile Daniel was finding concentration nearly impossible, as his groin was stroked repeatedly with the warm soapy washcloth. Each tender swipe coming in a different direction, leaving no inch, grove or crevice ignored. Fighting to keep his thoughts clean and stopping his blood from migrating south, he wanted to keep up with his urgent questioning, but was forced to clamp his lips tightly shut for fear a inapt moan would slip out.

"What year?" he managed to get out as she had to paused her torture to rinse the cloth.

She turned back to him with a taken aback frown, that morphed to one of sorrowful understand. Promptly she composed herself, before she lent over him, so she could slip the re-warmed cloth between him and the bed. "Two thousand and four," she answered sympathetically, working the cloth from his lower back downward to cleanse his buttocks.

"Eight days." Daniel stated quietly seemingly to himself, with an air of realisation, managing to focus his thoughts now she had finish with his loins. It wasn't the four years, previously stated, it was just over a week.

"Okay, Lees, you have to listen to me, very carefully." he said, finding it much easier to think and talk, once her attention was on his chest rather than the previous more intimate areas. "This is wrong. This whole place. This whole situation is wrong. It shouldn't be like this. I don't know why I don't remember how we got here but somehow-"

"Amnesia is a regular side effect of ECT, that doesn't mean anything."

He dropped his head back, a crestfallen sigh forced from his lips. "Okay think about it like this, if you're right and I'm some deluded nut obsessively stuck in a fantasy world of his own making, then listening to me will cost a days therapy at the worst."

"It could do much worse than that, Daniel. You're due for revaluation next month. One setback could cost you months, maybe even years of your life.

"But if I'm right," he said with a pause. "And you don't believe me, it could cost lives."

"Daniel."

"I have to get out of here, Lees. I have to figure out what's going on, where the others are. Please, please just listen to me."

After a weighted paused, she gave a slightly lopsided smile and reluctantly agreed.

For the remainder of the day he talked speedily, spilling the story of his life for the past eight years, trying to get all the information across to her as quick as he could, without leaving out any details that was necessary - The Stargate, SG-1, the Goa'uld, the Ancients, meeting her, their wedding (both of them), the lose of their baby. Trying to cover all the angles he explained his few theories of a possible foothold, or memory manipulation - though why it had failed on him he could only guess at - or an artificial reality.

After a number of failed attempts to interrupt his speeded and amazing tail, she settled to just listen to him, her look of sympathy increasing the longer he continued.

He talked through a rushed breakfast, he talked through his supervised recreation time with the other permanent patients (none of which he recognised, which dampened his theory of a foothold), he talked the day away, hardly noticing the time as he did. Throughout his talking, she carried on with her work, making sure he ate and bathed safely, all the while taking notes with a look a cross between total disbelief and utter amazement.

"Seriously, who'd make this shit up?" Daniel demanded as a conclusion back in the padded room many hours later.

She didn't answer, just folded her notes, checked her watch and announced, "It's time for your meds."

"I don't want any. I need to be able to think, coherently."

"Honey, you need to rest. It's been a long day for you. These will help." she told him gently, holding out a small paper cup.

He folded his arms across his chest in stubborn refusal and scowled at her.

"You have to take your medication, Daniel. And taking them orally is a lot nicer than the alternative."

He tightened his arms. "Is that a threat?"

"Of course not," she said sounding hurt by his accusation. "But you know what happens when you refuse to take your medication." Her eyes fleetingly flashed to his upper arm, the glance only lasting no longer than a blink, but Daniel noticed it. Truth was he didn't know what happened, but he did remember his time when Mackenzie had committed him before and suspected he knew the reason for that troubled look. Slowly he unfolded his arms and pushed his sleeve up to his shoulder, checking to see if his assumption was correct. There beneath the cotton material he found several small roundish bruises of varying colours, ranging from deep red to blue black, to faded yellow. Like everything else today it seemed taking the drugs wasn't going to be his choice.

Angrily he took the cup from her and peered at the contents; two small round tablets. "What are they?"

"It's just something to help you sleep."

He nodded solemnly and tipped the two white tablets into his mouth, tucked them safely under his tongue and then slipped the offered water. Making a deliberate show of swallowing, he handed her back the remaining water.

"Open." she softly ordered.

He frowned in disbelief, "You're kidding right?" he said, doing his best to keep his speech normal around the tiny obstructions.

She looked at him pointedly, waiting for him to follow her requested.

With a sigh of defeat, Daniel took the plastic cup back from her. "Can't blame a guy for trying." he said and chugged down the last swills of water, swallowing the tablets along with it.

Once she was satisfied the tablets where gone, she gathered up her notes and bidding him a good night, she left.

As soon as the door was closed Daniel sat down facing the corner, deliberately turning his back to the intrusive camera. He pushed his first two fingers into his mouth as far as he could and poked at his uvula. Almost immediately his stomach heaved and he took a deep breath around his fingers as his eyes started to water. His stomach settled, so he poked again and again, while his mouth filled with saliva and tears streamed, but he kept trying until his stomach finally gave up its contains in one sudden rush. Pulling off his top, he wiped his face roughly and covered the small essential pile of vomit. _'Right, part one; drugs of system. Check. Part two…Escape.'_

Adapting a casual manner, he moved across to the far corner of the room. Standing directly under the camera, he stretched up onto his tiptoes and reached up as far as he could. Too high, it was still a foot out of the reach of his outstretched fingertips. Dropping his hand to his hips, he looked around the bare room. There had to be a way. If he could escape a Goa'uld Mothership this padded room should be childs play_…'right?' _For the first time ever he started to wish that he had had the military training that Jack, Sam and Mitchell had had, but all that crawling through muddy tunnels on your elbows and running up walls had never been… _'Running up walls.'_

With his sight focused on his target, Daniel backed up to the far corner of the cell. It wasn't a big run up but it would have to do. Using his arms to spring himself forward to gain as much speed as possible in the limited space, he sprinting as fast as he possibly could across the spongy floor. As he neared the corner he leapt, his toes and fingers digging into the walls yielding surface, as he scrambled up. He swung for the camera and managed to knock it with his fist, so it faced the floor. He reached up again for it, hoping that now the lens was pointing downwards he would be able to reach it. Still just out of reach. He back up to the corner again and threw himself back across the room and up the wall. This time managing to wrap his fingers around it. It came away from the wall in his hand. Leaving a clump of disconnected multi coloured wires in its wake.

He speed to the door and pushed his back against the wall as tight as he could. The approaching footfalls making his heart hammer harder in his chest.

As the door opened and an orderly stepped inside Daniel swung his improvised weapon as hard as he could. Upper cutting the man on the temple and he went down instantly. Blood seeping from the unconscious mans head_._

He quickly frisked the man. I.D card, keys, wallet, gun. '_Gun? What sort of hospital is this? Not the point. Get moving!'_

He dragged the man into the padded room, grabbed the stuff and slipped out into the too bright, steel grey corridor.


	5. Chapter 5 Tale of Two Times

**Chapter 5 ~ Tale of Two Times**

Eight Days Earlier.

Leesia couldn't move.

With one-hundred and eighty pounds of dead weight archaeologist plastered over and against her back, she was effectively pinned in place. During the night, Daniel had emigrated over to her side of the bed and was currently fast asleep with his arm thrown over the top of her pillow, his other wrapped tightly around her chest and his long leg draped across her thighs. It was a confinement that she wasn't going to complain about. She tried to glance at the bedside alarm clock, only to find that Daniel was also lying on her hair, preventing her moving her head.

"Daniel," she called gently.

The continuation of the soft snore in her ear was the only response.

She raised her voice slightly, "Daniel."

He fidgeted, snuggling tighter against her, until she could feel his calm heartbeat reverberating on her back. With a small contented sigh huffed into her hair, he stilled again.

She smiled a silent giggle. Daniel was never one to wake easily in the morning, especially the morning after they had made love the previous night, when it seemed to take an extra effort to get his body and mind back to the land of the living. "Daniel."

"Hmmph?" he hummed through his nose.

"You awake?"

"No."

"You are laying on me."

He pulled in a slow breath, "Hmm, t'heavy?"

"No."

"'Kay." he sighed satisfyingly, nuzzling into her neck.

"But, I cannot move."

"Good," he murmured sleepily. "Don't want you to move."

She could almost hear the smile on his lips and it was a pleasant surprise. Until he had had his first cup of coffee, she was more likely to get a growl out of him, to have him smiling was a rarity, especially before the alarm had gone off.

He was happy, contented, and she firmly decided she wasn't going to be the one to ruin the moment for him. She grinned and wiggled deeper into her husbands embrace, enjoying the soft, warm puffs of air he was breathing on her neck, his masculine musk scent and the firm safety of being confined within his personal space.

It seemed like only moments later when the caterwauling of the alarm began in earnest.

Daniel groaned, squeezing his eyes shut and hid his face deeper in the sanctuary of her hair. "Would you do the honours?" he whispered into her neck. She didn't move, but a second later the room fell back into blissful silence. "Thank you," he sighed.

"Daniel."

"Don't say it."

"We need to get up now."

He groaned irritable, "I asked you not to say it." With a stubborn huff, his arm tightened around her. "Few more minutes."

This time she giggled aloud, which then turned into a purred out long sigh as she felt his lips begin to caress the back of her neck.

She closed her eyes, feeling herself getting lost in the sensations, as her hands started a search of their own and gently tickled her fingertips over his arms that held her tightly to his chest.

Abruptly the kisses and caresses stopped and the warmth of Daniel's body plastered against her back suddenly disappeared.

She let out a disappointed groan, then turned over her shoulder and was more than a little shocked and worried to see the mournful look her husband was wearing. His thick eyebrows so low they were almost join and his full lower lip jutting out and ever so slightly quivering.

"Daniel?"

"I'm so sorry, Lees." he said remorsefully, his eyes jumping to met hers. "I didn't know."

She met his look with one of confusion. "You did not know what?"

"That I was hurting you." Daniel said "Last night. Why didn't you tell me?"

Leesia blinked slowly at him, her lashes fluttering in baffled silence. Her mind couldn't make sense of what he was telling her. It was impossible; Daniel had hurt her? But there was no way that could… he was, he was…Daniel. And that just didn't happen. Daniel could not and would not ever hurt her. "I do not know what you are talking about."

"You've got friction burns on both your shoulder blades."

It took a moment for what he had told her to make sense to her, but then she ran for the wardrobe, pulling open the door and turned her back to the full-length mirror. Pulling her shoulder in towards her chin to gain a better view she peered over it.

Daniel followed more reservedly, his shoulders hunched, his eyes downcast. He couldn't believe what he had done. As soon as he had seen those marks he had instantly realised when it must have happened. He had been as tightly coiled as a spring as he had neared orgasm, but he shouldn't have let himself be ruled by his animalistic urges. This was Leesia for god sake. So delicate and innocent. She deserved to be made love to tenderly on a bed of silk, strewn with rose petals, not taken roughly on the living room floor like some bitch on heat. But now was not the time for self-flogging, now was the time to see how much she was hurting and try to make things better for her.

He moved in behind her and traced his fingertips gently around the inflamed edges of the burn marks. "Does it hurt?"

She was silent while she thought of how best to answer. She could hear the guilty tone that caused a slight choke to his voice. It was clear that he was blaming himself badly. But she didn't understand why. It hadn't been his intention to damage her. Nothing could be further from the truth. He had been loving her, pleasing her, pleasuring her, so much so that she hadn't even noticed any pain. But now as she tugged at her shoulder to gain a better view, she felt an aching pull at the tender red area.

As much as she wished she could ease his trouble, she refused to lie to him. Their recent problems had been caused by the truth being withheld, for noble reasons maybe, but a lie was a lie no matter the intentions. Reluctantly, she admitted, "They are a little sore."

He knew it. Hating himself, he dropped his chin down to his chest. "I'm so sorry."

"I am not." she told him, quite surely, her attention fixed on the sensitive abrasions staining her silky smooth skin. "I like them."

"What?" he quizzed, his eyes meeting hers in the reflection, in nothing short of bewildered confusion, before she turned from their reflections to face him for real.

"I like them," she repeated with wide truthful eyes.

He stared at her, his pouting frown speaking the silent question he couldn't find the words for.

Looking at his totally dumbfounded expression and remembering his confession the previous evening, she giggled, "Tongue-tied?"

Mutely, he nodded and his brow pinched a little tighter, before he swallowed, trying to find his voice, "Pretty much…You - you like them?"

She placed her flattened palms on his stomach, slowly guiding them up to his chest. "The pain is not much. Barely more than a minor irritation. And they were made during a moment of love, Daniel." she tried to explain as best she could while more than a little distracted by the feel of his muscles tighten in response to her touch. "I can now feel your presence with me, even when we are not together. How could I not like them? I feel like I have been marked as yours Daniel."

He laughed and shock his head as he bit his bottom lip. Looking up at her through his eyebrows he asked, "You do know you're a complete fruit cake, don't you?"

She giggled again, wrinkling her petite nose. "But you love me anyway." she smiled, raising up to her tiptoes so she could press her lips to his cheek bone in a tender kiss.

"And I always will." said Daniel, leaning down to change her gentle peck into a deeper kiss.

With a happy sigh, she turned back to look over her shoulder at the friction burns again and her smile faltered. "They will fade," she said sadly.

Seeing the disappointment in her statement, an idea twinkling in his mind. He dropped his lips to tenderly kiss at the sweet spot behind her ear. She hummed out a pleasurable moan and pressed herself back against him, arching her neck in a plea for more. Happy to comply, his lips tiptoed down her jugular. Kiss, after slow soft kiss, until he arrived at the apex of her shoulder. Careful to make sure he was low enough that it could be hidden by her clothes, he clamping his mouth firmly over her skin. He sucked, hard and her moaning increased in volume.

Easing off he quickly dropped another quick kiss and then leaned back to admire his handiwork. A red oval love bite shone proudly against her pale skin.

Taking hold of her hips, he turned her to face the mirror. "Look," he said, pulling her hair behind her shoulder to give her the best view of her new decoration.

Her mouth dropped open in pleasant surprise, shifted to a contented grin as her fingers search up her throat, feeling tenderly over the slight warmer mark.

Daniel had never been overly keen on hickies. In his opinion there were more appropriate ways of symbolising your love and devotion for another - their wedding rings for one example. But if doing this simple act for her could bring the kind of awed reverence expression to his wife's face he was more than willing.

…

Daniel paced his office, tonguing the inside of his cheek, his eyes focused on the tablet in hand. His thumb worried his bottom lip as he studied the problem. The other side of his work bench Leesia mirrored his movements. Two opposite equals, trapped in the furiously impossible task of finding the hidden meaning of the troublesome tablets.

It was Leesia who was the first to quit. "This is hopeless, Daniel." she said with a exasperated sigh, plonking herself down heavily on the stool and dropping her head so her forehead rested on the cluttered surface.

Eyes still glued to the tablet, Daniel moved around his work bench and rubbed his hand up her back. "Don't give up, it has to mean something."

She sat upright, quickly snatching the sheet of paper that had stuck to her forehead off and turned to him. "What?" she questioned.

"I have no idea."

"You said it was important."

"Then I hope I'm right, but I don't remember why they were important, only that they were."

She shot out a weary huff and took back up the tablet she had been scrutinizing. "They read like gibberish, Daniel. I have repeatedly reviewed them for weeks."

"There must be something we're over looking."

"'Powered by'…'the masters of the'… And this ones no better." she read, then picked up another. "'The uncertain past'…'sector isolate'. None of it makes sense." she said tossing the tablet on the desk next to the other.

"Wait, what was that?"

"Sector isolate?"

"No before that. You said; master of the uncertain past," he said, speedily disregarding the tablet he had been studying and moving over to hover over her shoulder. "I've heard that before." He pushed the two tablets together. "Dommo waitus, wetol notibilum." he spoke under his breath as he grazed his finger from one to the other. "This phrase was repeated on P4X-639."

She looked at him blankly.

"It's the planet where we found an Ancient device that looped time."

She nodded once, still wearing her blank expression. "And the significance of that is…?"

"I have no idea, but it's got to have something to do with that planet or the device there. There's my diary for that planet in the file cabinet." Daniel told her, pointing absently in the rough direction, knowing it would only take her a minute or two to read through it and catch up with him. While she located the notebook he was referring to and quickly read through his notes on the planet he read the two tablets together.

"It's like some sort of annotations, but there are parts missing: Prevention…of the past…ever repeating. If you read them individually they do not make sense, but… if you combine them with the other." His speech quickened as his excitement grew. He could see the answers just a short distance in front of his mind. He chased it eagerly. "There has to be another one to complete the set. We just have to find which one. These ticks between the markings, I think they're to tell you when to jump to the next tablet and conclude the sentence."

"You did say that we have to find the others." Leesia agreed.

…

Sam watched sceptically as Daniel waved his hand gesturing over three of the tablets in question, which sat harmlessly looking on the surface of his very cluttered desk. His face was alive with the excitement of a new fascinating discovery.

She, and then the guys at area 51, had run countless checks on them and no power source had been detected in any of their scans. Even now as she ran the device, set to the highest and most sensitive settings, nothing was being picked up.

But then again, a Leesia-o-meter was not part of their arsenal.

Pausing for dramatic effect, Leesia and Daniel watched, waiting for Sam to finish her checks. Until, with a thin lipped smile and a shake of her head, Sam told them, "Nothing."

With a cheekily knowing grin, Daniel pushed at the nearest tablet to him, sliding it into the next, and then on until all three touched edges. As soon as they did the rigidly still needle jumped off to the left.

"Okay, that's something." Sam corrected.

"I only noticed it when we completed the set," Leesia explained. "The power only appears to be present when these three tablets come into contact with each other."

"Notice the edges." Daniel pointed out, lifting the nearest tablet so show Sam the groves. He then tilted it until it locked together with the next. With a knowing smile Daniel fitted the remaining one of the three and suddenly six of the chevrons silhouetting the edges glowed briefly.

As the symbols faded back to the same colourless pattern as the rest of the tablet, Sam pointed in surprise. "Was that-?"

"The gate address, lacking the point of origin, to P4X-639." Daniel confirmed, with a very smug smile. "We think it's their equivalent to a cross-reference index." he explained, his tone matching his expression.

Peeking up at him through under her eyelashes, Leesia shot him with a pointed look.

"I." Daniel corrected, "I think it's a cross-referenced index."

"And you don't?" Sam asked Leesia.

"I have studied them all, for a very long time, yet it has only been these specific three that have had any reaction."

"She thinks the rest are just camouflage." Daniel interrupted, his hands going to his hips, his top lip caught between his teeth, holding back the argument that he didn't wish to repeat in front of Sam.

"It makes no sense for the Ancients to leave a guide and map to all their invention where anyone one could find them."

"Why not?" Daniel demanded. "After all they leave the actual inventions lying around willy-nilly. And it's not like these are instructions."

Ignoring Daniel's use of the phrase 'willy-nilly', Sam jumped in, "It's true. The weapon we found on Velona, both the repositories, this machine," she pointed to the tablets again, "we found right on the doorstep of the Stargate. And then of course there's the Stargate themselves."

"The Stargates by nature have to be left." Leesia pointed out. "And from what I understand of this machine, it never worked."

…

0115 hours, and Jack finally left his office. P Whatever the airman needed it would wait until after lunch. A lunch that he was 15 minutes late for already.

Getting together with SG-1 for lunch every time they were on base had been his idea. It was the perfect way to have an informal meeting with his 'Kids' and keep up to date with any developments they may have made. More importantly it also ensured that the 'Science Twins' ate. Something both of them had a tendency to forget when they were stuck on base with some alien doohicky or rocks that had caught one or both of their attention.

He spotted Teal'c and Mitchell straight away as he entered the commissary, already set up on one of the rear tables. No surprise there - Keeping Teal'c from a meal was not advisable and the new Colonel had a abnormal liking for the commissary food. Also no surprise was the fact that Sam, Daniel and - by default - Leesia was running later than he was. It had become common practice to drag one of both of them from their lab kicking and screaming… Well, stomping their feet and complaining loudly at least.

He grabbed a tray, choose the meatloaf and joined the men, just as Sam entered followed by Leesia. They smiled a greeting and shortly after joined the others, Sam with a sandwich and her standard blue and Leesia with…one of everything they were serving today by the looks of her heavily loaded tray.

"Hungry?" Jack quizzed, inclining his head to Leesia's heaped pile of food.

"It is for Daniel also," Leesia told Jack, gesturing to the sweeter items gathered.

Jack peered around the crowded mess hall, searching for the aforementioned absent archaeologist.

"He's holed up in his office," Mitchell explained =around a mouthful, "and refusing to leave until he has a eurekaz-= moment.

"I'm guessing he's not expecting one any time soon…Didn't he have one yesterday?" Jack questioned going to steal a grape from Teal'c tray and then, thinking better of it, took one from Leesia's instead.

"Sure did. Turns out those tablets weren't encrypted at all, they were segregated." Sam explained, waving her jello laden spoon about as she spoke. "A combination of three will give you a description to a particular device and a gate address. Problem is, with over two hundred tablets to go though, to find any set three, means over eight million possible combinations."

Jack's whistle descended in pitch. "That's a lot."

Sam nodded, "Daniel's convinced that there is a way to narrow it down. Something he's missing."

Leesia scoffed into her food, turning Jack's attention to her.

"Leesia believes otherwise." Sam explained.

"Really?" Jack said in a playful tone, turning his look to the former Ancient. "You know Antarctica isn't an option, so feel free to yell at him all you want. He's staying right here." He jabbed the tip of his index finger firmly on the tabletop to emphasize his point.

"It is not that I do not have faith in Daniel's abilities," Leesia said defensively. "I merely think it would be incredibly irresponsible for the Ancients to leave behind technology that could prove dangerous in the wrong hands, but to leave a map to that technology…" She shook her head dubiously. "I expected better."

Jack was spared from pointing out that with the instructions written in Ancient they were probably not expecting anyone other than that of their own people to be able to use them, when the doors to the commissary were pushed open with a bang. Daniel followed them in, scanned the room, spotting the other members of his team, speedily joined them.

"There you guys are."

"It's lunch time, Daniel. This is where we're meant to be."

Daniel ignored Jack's pointed comment and dropped the tablets he was carrying on the centre of the table, rattling the condiments as they fell. "I got one."

Leesia glanced over the three he had set down. "These are the same two." she pointed out.

Daniel sat with a raised index finger. "I figured out that the three we found describe four key points: The category, a basic description, the inventor and obviously the location. There was no specific details on the invention itself."

"Like the fact that it didn't work?" Jack asked in his usual sarcastic tone.

"Exactly," Daniel beamed. "Which holds weight with my theory of these being like some kind of key card catalogue. Anyway on that assumption I look for another inventor and I was in luck. I kept the description and the category, but by adding this tablet," he jabbed at the new one in the set, "The inventor changed and when I connected them I got an address."

Sam's attention flickered from the tablets to Daniel and back again quickly, "So this is a time machine?"

"That works?" Jack added sceptically.

"I guess we'll find out when we get there."

…

His checks were checked and his pack was packed. He was set and ready. Before the others, which he figured had to be a first.

The only thing that wasn't prepared for his departure was his worryingly quiet wife. She had turned to a infuriated silence after he had announced it was a time machine and had stubbornly kept it up throughout the remainder of lunch, and then through all the planning and preparations. Once given the go ahead, she had followed him back to his office and had sat, meticulously watching each and every item that was carefully loaded into his tightly crowded pack.

Taking up his bandana, Daniel folded it in half, flipped it over his head and securely tied it at the back. "Are you going to tell me what's troubling you?" he asked, peeking at her from the corner of his eye, hoping to pull her gaze to him rather than the locked attention she was giving his pack.

It worked. She turned her stony eyes to his and gave him her best perceptive stare. "Are you going to tell me why you are so zealous about this mission and trying to hide it?"

He tensed. He had wanted to keep his reasoning to himself, not wanting to get her hopes up, but he should have realised that she would see through his act to the truth he was holding back. She always did. But could he actually vocalise his main reason for wanting this mission so badly, when if his plan failed it would only hurt her all the more?

"Daniel?" she pleaded, seeing his uncertainty in the way he was worrying his lower lip.

He took a deep breath and looped both his arms around his waist. "I don't want you to get your hopes up," he told her, holding a strong gaze into her suddenly enticed eyes. "It's a long shot, a very unlikely long shot. There are probably about a million things that could prevent it going the way I want. The machine might not work, or might not work the way it's meant to, or it might only be one way or, it might not even be there, or -"

"I get it, Daniel," she interrupted, "A million to one chance of it working, what are you getting at?"

"IF it is still functioning and IF we can figure out how to use it successfully," he started emphasising each 'if' as strongly as he could, "it may be our best chance to get our baby back."

Her eyes saucered as she realised the possibility, that she hadn't seen until that very moment. "You want to go back in time?"

"Yes. If I can somehow managed to get back to the ship, just after he was born, I could snatch him back and bring him home."

"That would be highly improbable, not to mention dangerous."

"I agree," he said with a nod. "But the one thing I never understood was how the Ancients could lose track of him. He couldn't have just vanished. He had to have gone somewhere."

"You believe that that somewhere was with you?"

"Possibly," he said breathing the word out uncertainly.

"Do the others know about your plans?"

"No," he told her with a grin, thinking about what Sam's reaction would be when he told her. No doubt he would be subjugated to another 'altering the timeline in anyway could have more drastic effects than we could possibly imagine' speech, with probably the 'grandfather paradox' analogy thrown in for good measure. "First I want to see if it is possible before I take a stand."

"Take me with you."

Slowly, Daniel shook his head. "When we lost him I had this vision. You were waiting at the bottom of the ramp for me and when I came through the gate I was holding him in my arms. I handed him to you and you smiled up at me, so happy and…" He broke off with a sigh. "I know it's silly, but I want to be right about that. I want it to happen."

"It is not silly," she argued softly, stepping up close and pulled herself into him. "It is beautiful."

She pulled away, just far enough so she could take his head between her hands in a tender hold. Looking up at him sternly, she focused her eyes on his. "You must promise me that you will stay safe," she told him seriously, the gravity of what she was saying in no way diminished by her gentle silken tones.

"I will," he said with a nod, "I promise."

"You will _not _put yourself in any unnecessary risk."

"I won't."

"And you will remember how precious your life is to me." she said gently fingering his hair back. "How much you mean to me," she said, gently pressing a kiss to his left eyelid. "How much I love you." Another to his right.

He nodded earnestly for each point.

"And you will remember how royally pissed off I will be if you return in anything less than a one hundred percent fit and healthy state." she breathed against his lips.

Smiling he gave a soft chuckle through his nose and pulled her tight into his arms. "I couldn't forget that." He kissed her forehead. "I love you too."

With intertwined finger, they made their way to the 'Gateroom and met up with the other, ready and waiting to leave.

Daniel was the last to walk up the metal ramp to go through the watery ring. Feeling like it would be a long time before he saw this room and these people again. He hesitated on the event horizon, then turned around and stared at Leesia for a long moment, burning the image of her into his mind, to carry it in his heart.

Then, pushing aside his paranoid feelings, he stepped through after his team-mates and was gone.

…

Present Day

The tiled floor of the New York State Hospital for Mental Health, was freezing beneath his bare feet, but Daniel was grateful. Having bare# feet meant he could negotiate the corridors and sdhallways in near perfect silence.

He moved as quickly as he could, with his back tight against the wall and the pilfered weapon gripped in both hands aimed at the floor. Wishing he had his glasses, he strained his ears for anyone's approach, hearing nothing but his own pounding heartbeat. At the end of the corridor was a large windowed door. Taking the id card, he swiped it through the security panel and with a buzz he heard the lock disengage.

This time in the evening the hospital was seemingly deserted. He followed the signs for the exit, making a left, quickly followed by a right turn and froze when he heard voices around the next bend.

"Yeah. I think I'm gonna have to ask for a transfer."

The voice went straight to his thankful heart. She may be using a different name, but the silk was the same as ever.

"Jackson giving problems?" The other woman's voice was new to him.

"Oh no it's not that it's…I don't know. I just don't think I'm the best person to handle his case. Anyway, see you Monday."

"Have a nice weekend."

Keeping close to the wall, Daniel peeked around the edge. Leesia or Lisa or whatever alias she was using in this twisted place, was pushing open a glass panelled door and headed outside. The woman that she had been speaking with, a dumpy blonde with a long pony tail flicked through the folders she was carrying and then disappeared in the opposite direction.

Moving cautiously, quickly and keeping watch all around him he headed for the door and the freedom it promised. Pushing it open he half expected to hear the caterwauling of an alarm go off, but was relieved when it didn't.

Squinting against the low sun that reflected off the tarmac of the carpark, he spotted her as she moved unhurriedly towards a jeep that sat solitary near the rear. He sprinted after her, seeing her unlock the drivers door and just managed to jump into the passenger side as she was turning the key in the ignition.

She jumped about a foot off her seat, in startled fear, her eyes growing wide when she recognised who it was that was suddenly sat beside her, and then widened further in terror as she noticed the gun.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he quickly insisted. "Just drive."

Trembling hard, she mutely gripped at the wheel and while Daniel stared over his shoulder, his attention fixed to the door he had escaped from, waiting for the guard to come running, she silently did as he asked.

Daniel sighed a long breath of relief and slumped back against the seat as the car pulled out onto the main road and left the hospital falling away in the distance. His heart was thumping an adrenaline stimulated tempo against his ribs, pounding so hear it echoed behind his ears and pulsating inside his head and he took several long, deep breath in attempt to calm himself down.

"Where are we going?" she meekly asked with a wavering voice.

"Uh, I don't know. I'm kinda making this up as I go along." he said with a small chuckle, trying to lighten the mood and ease her fear.

It didn't seem to work. Slightly disheartened he told her, "Just head west."

"K-k-kay." she stammered, making a right at the next chance.

"I'm really not going to hurt you," he tried again, hating seeing and hearing her so fearful and loathing further that it was him she was afraid of. "You're safe. I would never hurt you, okay?"

She nodded far too quickly for it to be convincing and Daniel let out another sigh, this one out of frustrated disappointment. But what could he say or do to convince her that she really wasn't in any danger. After all he had just broken into her vehicle and kidnapped her. At gunpoint none the less.

"They'll be looking for you, you know." she said timidly, but he noticed that her voice, though not empty of fear, certainly trembled less.

He stole another long glance over his shoulder, scanning the few cars on the road for any that could possible be following. "I'm hoping that with evening staff and no camera in the room, it might take them a while to figure out that I'm gone."

"I'm only on a break. If I'm not back in an hour they'll notice."

Daniel smiled knowingly, "Always take weekend long breaks do you?"

She gave him a surprised fleeting look out of the corner of her eye, taken aback that he had exposed her little gambit so effortlessly. Before realisation struck her, "You were listening."

"Yeah. Why did you want to transfer off my case?"

She blushed, her eyes stubbornly fixed to the road ahead, unsure or unwilling to answer.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me," Daniel quickly reassured. Happy that her fear seemed to be lessening. She may not be completely at ease with him, but embarrassment was a darn sight better than terror. " I was just curious that's all. I just thought that if I was treating someone with a mental disorder and they had written me into their delusion it would be an advantage. Make helping them easier."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

Daniel smiled. That was the Leesia he knew. Once again she'd seen through what he was saying to the true emotions beneath it. She was right, he had been offended, but he hadn't even realise it himself until she pointed it out. Here she was being held hostage by a madman (or so it must seem from her perspective) and she was worried about his feelings being hurt.

It strengthened his resolve and an idea sprung in his mind. "Quod dico non creditis?" he asked her slowly.

"Of course I don't believe you, it's…" she broke off, turning to face him, confusion shining in her warm eyes.

"You see!" he exclaimed excitedly. "If this was real you wouldn't have understood what I said. I have no idea why I remember and you don't but we have to figure out what's going on. Do you have a cell phone?"

"Yeah, in my hand bag." she pointed to the leather shoulder bag by his feet.

He snatched it up and fumbled through to too cluttered contents: A purse, power lead, make up, a folder entitled 'Case study, Dr Daniel Jackson.' _'Interesting.', _a small bottle of aspirin, a lipstick, some sun block, a pen, an eyeliner, pack of wet wipes, another lipstick, deck of cards, an MP3 player, a hairbrush.

"Is there anything you don't have? I been on simpler digs." he griped as he continued his search. He had explored the far reaches of the Galaxy, but Leesia's handbag was a different matter all together. Atlantis had been easier to find then this allusive cell.

Eventually he found the phone and his thumb worked hastily over the key pad, typing in the familiar number. He pressed it to his ear, only to hear a recorded voice telling him the number he had dialled was unavailable. He checked the screen, it was defiantly Sam's number. Jack and Mitchell's cell numbers both had the same results. Sam's home number had a male voice on the answer machine, both the others went unanswered. Finally he tried the SGC itself only to be told that there was no General O'Neill there, before he was hung up on.

"I need to get to Colorado Springs." he said, forcefully tossing the phone back into her black hole of a bag in aggravation.

However, as he did the file folder poking out, grabbed his attention. His frustration quickly forgotten in favour of his curiosity, he pulling it out and eagerly started flicking through the pages. Most of it was medical print outs and terminology that he didn't understand, but the notes she had added in her neat bubbly handwriting helped.

"A month ago was there a change in my condition?"

She nodded. "That's when they first tried ECT. We couldn't keep you on your medication for much longer, it was starting to effect your health. After your treatment…the change was incredible. Before you were delusional, withdrawn…suicidal."

Daniel frowned, unable to imagine himself with suicidal tendencies, but he stayed silent and let her finish.

"Afterwards you were like a new man." she said with a small smile. "For a while I thought that you were cured, but then the depth of your delusions became evident."

"They're not delusions." he told her adamantly, "And when we get to Cheyenne Mountain, I'll prove it to you."

…

Daniel closed the door of the motel room behind them, locked it and added the chain just to be thorough. After a quick peek through the grimy window, he pulled the curtains together, blocking out most of the daylight and throwing the room into an unpleasant shade of burnt rust.

The room was - well to put it politely - it had seen better days. The threadbare carpet was so multi stained it was impossible to tell what colour it had originally been when it was new, however many years ago that had been and was nearly worn through at doorway. The colour scheme would have insulted the blind, every possible shade of vomit, and the chemical air freshener only barely masked the heavy dust and various aged bodily odours.

But to be fair the bathroom was clean and the bed did look very comfortable…or maybe he was just too tired to care. It had been a very long and tiring night's drive for the pair of them and they both needed to rest and if he was honest with himself he had slept in worse.

"Can I ask you a question? Why didn't you run?" he turned to find her gazing up at him with those innocent doe eyes. "When booking the room, you had the opportunity, but you didn't run…Why?"

"You're my patient. I have a responsibility." she said.

Slowly he shock his head, thoughtfully. "No, that's not it…" he held up his index finger, pausing her when she tried to argue. "If you were that concerned about responsibility you wouldn't have considered transferring off my case. You also wouldn't have attempted to prevent the electroshock. It was obvious that you believed it was helping me, you just didn't want it done against my will."

She was hanging her head sadly. He stepped closer and took hold of her chin, tilting her head gently to look back up at him.

"Thank you for that."

She sadly avoided his eyes. "It didn't do any good."

"It meant a lot that you tried. I just don't understand why you did. I know how good you are at keeping secrets Leesia. What aren't you telling me?"

"Don't Daniel. You're a just using my actions to fuel your delu…" she was paused by the look on his face. "I want to help you get well, but you have to want to help yourself in order for me to do that."

He was shaking his head all through her speech.

"You need proof." He was silent while he thought for a while then turned back to her hopefully. "Okay uh, you said that I attempted suicide. I slashed my wrists?"

She nodded sadly.

"Look." he insisted thrusting both his upturned wrist under her nose. "If that were true there'd be scars."

She lightly, with shaking fingers, took hold of his forearms, her thumb tracing over the dark blue veins beneath his flawless skin. "I saw them." she gasped out in a surprised whisper almost under her breath.

"It didn't happen. I would never have done that."

She was looking at him sceptically.

"You need more proof? Okay, if you weren't my wife, how would I know that you have a small mole here." he lightly touched the front of her left hip. "And you have another one between your breasts."

"How…?"

"Because I know you Leesia. I know that you're incredible companionate, forgiving and trusting. It takes a hell of a lot to get you jealous. You hate chocolate. You can read like greased lightening. And you could turn the lights on just by thinking about it."

She stared at him opened mouthed.

"Put your hand on me."

"Sorry?" she frowned on him.

"There's a very simple way to prove if this real or all in my mind. Just put your hand on me."

Her frown deepened, but she moved closer. "Where?"

"Heart." he told her. The tingles were never stronger than when she touched him there, well apart from…now was not the time.

Gently she pressed her hand to his chest. He felt the slight pressure, the softness of her skin, warmth…but no tingles.

"Relax, Lees." he pleaded, closing his eyes and throwing all of his concentration into their physical connection. "Open yourself to the possibility."

With a soft surrendered sigh, she closed her eyes, feeling his steady heartbeat against her palm, the velvety smoothness of his muscled chest.

There... He felt it... A tiny spark.

He covered her hand with his, trying to focus all of his thoughts, energies, feelings to the centre of his chest and felt it grow stronger.

He dropped his forehead to rest on hers. "You feel that?"

"What is it?"

"It's the residual energies from when we were ascended beings."

She gave him a fleeting sideward glance, a single eyebrow raised, her head tilted.

"Yeah." he said slowly. "I can see why you wouldn't believe that, but I don't know what else I can do to convince you."

"I believe you." she said so softly he nearly didn't hear it.

"What?"

"I said: I believe you," she repeated.

A half sigh of relief half sob, burst from his lips and before either of them knew what was happening, he took her face in both his hands and quickly locked his mouth over hers.

The kiss felt like a release for all his fear, worry, doubt and suddenly he felt a surge of pure certainty fill him from the tips of his toes to the top of his head and set up home in his heart, where her hand was still held. As long as she was with him, by his side, on his side, he could get through this.

That is until he realised that she had completely frozen.

Daniel quickly backed up half a step. "I'm sorry," he said, as he took in her slack-jawed suprised expression.

She stood shock still, her hand hovering in midair where it had been on his chest, for a second before she jerked to life. "No, I'm sorry. I just wasn't expecting it."

He nodded and smiled in expectance. She may be his wife but he certainly knew what it was like to not remember that they were married. She hadn't pushed then, allowing him to remember on his own, the least he could do now was show her the same consideration.

…

As Daniel edged his way from the dream world into consciousness, he kept his eyes tightly closed. One thought prayed through his mind. _'Let it have all been a dream.' _

However the tangy scent that managed to assault his nasal passage despite his slight congestion (most likely caused by the excess of dust in the air), told him firmly that it had, unfortunately, all been real.

He groaned and flopped onto his back, his arm slapping onto the opposite side of the bed … the empty side of the bed.

A fist of fear tighten in his chest as his always over analyzing brain lead him down a paranoid path. _'She's not here. It was an act all along. She never believed me. She's gone to fetch them. Any minute now I'll hear sirens. Unless they're already out there, waiting.'_

That was when he noticed the bathroom door was closed. Straining his ears to listen closely, he could swear he heard running water. Or maybe it was just wishful thinking.

Hopefully hesitant, he tapped on the wooden door, "Lees?"

"I won't be long."

His heavy sigh of relief turned into a chuckle at his own stupidity. _'What had I been thinking? Leesia turn me in? Ha! Preposterous.'_

Feeling more than a little foolish with himself, he called back, "Take your time."

Still smiling he flopped back down onto the bed and reached for the remote control. He surfed absently through the channels, while he waited for his turn in the bathroom. For the first time since he had awoken in that padded room things were going his way. Thanks to their long drive through the night they should reach Cheyenne Mountain tomorrow morning if they made the same good time today. And Leesia, while still not remember who she was, believed him. The thousands of niggling questions that had dogged him relentlessly, where all paled by the simple fact that she was by his side. With her support he was confident that he could find out what was going on and more importantly get things back to nor-

His heart skipped more than one fearful beat, the TV remote falling from his stunned grip, as an image of his own face stared back at him from the television screen.

"-are continuing the manhunt for missing mental patent, Doctor Daniel Jackson." a female voice-over was saying. The image shrank to the top right corner of the screen and a grainey black and white servalance video of him bare chested and gun in hand, running for Leesia's car, took its place. "Jackson broke out of New York State Research Hospital for Mental Health early yesterday evening, taking Psychiatric Nurse, Lisa Smith, who he falsely believes to be his wife, hostage. Police are advising the public not to approach him. He's armed and considered extremely dangerous."

"Oh sh-" Daniel threw himself off the bed and speedily crossed the room. "Leesia!" he shouted, thumping the bathroom door with the side of his fist.

"I'd be quicker if you stop interrupting me." Came the muffled reply from the other side of the wooden door.

"No, Lees, you don't understand. We're on the news."

There was a silent beat, before the door was opened revealing a fearfully puzzled Leesia, toothpaste remains still clinging to her slightly slack-jawed mouth. "What?"

"I only caught the tail end of the report," Daniel quickly explained, "So I don't know how big it's gotten, but the police are searching for me and if the media's involved then it's-"

"Big."

"-Big." he confirmed with a single sharp nod.

"I should call the hospital to explain. Let them know that, that it's all okay and that-"

"That won't make a difference," Daniel argued shaking his head. "Other than letting them know exactly where we are if they're tracing the call. No, we need to get going, like five minutes ago. Hurry."

She nodded speedily, looking panicked and rushed to finish, while Daniel snatched up his discarded jeans.

He was just reaching for his sweater when a strange male voice from the door grabbed his attention.

"Got a price on your head boy."

Turning to face the now open doorway, Daniel stared down the double barrel of a shotgun aimed straight at him.

"Recon I'd get my name in the paper for this." the man leered proudly. His dark green shirt and pinned on name badge identified him as the co-manager of the motel and Daniel instantly realised what must have happened. He must have seen the same news report and Leesia had used her credit card to book the room.

Raising his hands to appear as least threatening as possible, Daniel held his ground, searching in his peripheral vision for Leesia's whereabouts. "You don't understand."

"Sh'ud up. Up against the wall, hands behind ya head." the manager demanded, gesturing dramatically with the shotgun.

Daniel backed up slowly, raising his hands and interlocking his fingers behind his head. As his back hit the wall Leesia appeared from the bathroom and Daniel had to double take when he saw her current demeanour.

Her normal gentle nature was replaced by a firm harshness, her eyes blazed crazy. She unwaveringly faced their intruder, the gun Daniel had taken from the guard held aloft aimed in his direction.

The shotgun welding hero-wannabe indecisively tennised his head between the two for a few seconds, before he turned his weapon on her.

Cautiously, Daniel took one tentative step towards her, "Lees, put the gun down."

"It's not real, right?"

Time warped, seemingly slowing to a stand still while rushing at light speed before his eyes, as her meaning clicked inside his mind.

She believed him. She knew this - this whatever it was - was wrong. This was…not real. And if it wasn't real then there was no consequences. And if there were no consequences then they could do pretty much whatever they wanted… But that would mean that she could be intending to… _OH GOD NO! _

Daniel lunged for her, grabbing handfuls of clothing, he dragged her down to the floor with him. As they hit with a hard thud he heard the shotgun fire.

With the sound of the blast still echoing inside his now seemingly empty brain, Daniel was up, hovering over her, eyes and hands searching her. Frighteningly slowly, or maybe that was just how it seemed to Daniel, the first spots of blood started seeping out across her chest.

"Oh God Lees, hold on." he pleaded, trying to cover as many of the wounds with his hand as possible, and applied some pressure to try and stop the bleeding.

"Call an ambulance!" he shouted over his shoulder at the man, who was stood frozen. His stupidly gawping expression shifting from the couple to the weapon hanging loosely from his grip.

"I remember," she said softly, realisation shinning through the pain in her eyes. She looked up at him mournfully. "I came to help you. Things had shifted, you weren't on your right path… But I forgot-"

"-Shh shh, Lees, just hold on."

"-When I descended…I failed you."

"None of that matters now, jus-just hold on."

She raised her hand and weakly held it to his cheek. "Not real, remember?"

He nodded quickly, but the traitorous tears broke free, revealing all his fear and doubt.

Then he felt her tingles start to fade. Mortified he tighten his grip on her, as if he could anchor her to life itself. "Hold on, Lees!" he begged, pleaded in a desperate broken cry. "Please, please hold on."

No reply came.

She just lay lax in his arms. Cold eyes fixed, unblinking over his shoulder. She sighed out one final long breath and then, to his gut-wrenching horror, he felt her tingles, her energy, her life, disappear altogether.

* * *

A.N ~ Don't forget your reviews people.


	6. Chapter 6 Down the Rabbit Hole

**Chapter 6 ~ Down The Rabbit Hole.**

Daniel stared down at his hands, while he fiddled absently with his own fingers resting in his lap. He would have been more comfortable resting them on the table top before him, but he couldn't stand the rattle of the handcuffs against the metallic surface. He had fast come to the conclusion that being falsely arrested for the murder of his wife was the worse thing that could have happened, amplified by the fact that she was dead.

How long had he been waiting in this tedious interview room now? Hours? Felt like days. He knew it was deliberate, knew that they were watching him from the other side of that two way mirror, waiting for a sign that he had cracked. They were trying to intimidate him, throw him off balance, it was designed that way. Everything from the moment of his arrest: The shackles, the stripped none too gentle cavity search, the isolated imprisonment, all of it meant to wear him down and break his spirit. What they didn't seem to realise was; it didn't matter, none if it did. She was dead, what more was there?

He didn't look up when he heard someone enter. In his peripheral vision he saw a pair of legs move around the table in front of him, before a paper file was slapped down loudly on the surface. Still he stared at his hands.

"This is a very interesting read."

"Oh, I don't doubt that." Daniel said tonelessly, wondering if he should gaud the cop further by pointing out that he preferred reference to fiction.

"So?" the detective said, casually leaning back in the plastic chair. "Why d'you do it?"

Daniel's eyes thinned to a scowl, but he remained quiet. There was no reason in declaring his innocence…again. He'd been found cradling her corpse, blood coating his hands, weapon in reach. With his 'supposed' history of mental problems, they had all the evidence they needed to convict him of first degree murder. Murder one.

"Did she refuse to play into you little fantasy? Is that why you killed her? Because she wouldn't play along?"

Daniel looked him in the eye. "What exactly is it you want from me?" He was sick of these games.

"Tell me about Sarah Gardener."

Daniel tensed. The man had done his homework. "She was a friend." Daniel admitted, shifting uncomfortably in his hard seat. He could say that much.

"Was?" he repeated. "So she's dead?"

Daniel eyes went wide. "What?" he gasped out, before regaining his composure. "No. you're putting words in my mouth."

"According to this," he continued, ignoring Daniel's question and flicking through the file, "You claimed the two of you were lovers."

"I claimed?" Daniel replied in tone of irritated disbelief.

"Is it mere coincidence that the two woman that you've taken a shine to have both suffered misfortune?"

"You think I killed Sarah?" Daniel snapped. "That- that's preposterous."

"Preposterous is what I'd call your explanation for her disappearance." he read from the file. " 'Possessed by an alien'. Is that what you expected to happen to Lisa Smith? Is that what you meant by 'ascend'?"

Daniel flinched at the memory the cops word triggered. - On his knees, hunched over Leesia's immobile form, while she stared, unblinking, unseeing to the ceiling. He rocked her, wept over her, only barely hearing his own wavering and breaking voice that forced from him, seemingly of its own accord. He screamed at her, ordering her to ascend, '_please god ascend. Ascend please. ASCEND!_'

But there had been no shinning glow of saving light. No help to another plane of existence…no hope for her return. And at that moment the hole in Daniel heart - the one that had been torn open from Sha're's death and had somewhat been healed, filled with love from and to Leesia - had fractured wide apart, filling him with a void. Slowly, numbly, he had raised a trembling hand and tenderly drew her eyelids closed. -

"How d'you do it huh?" the cop continued, spurred on my the moisture pooling in the prisoners eyes, "Charm them? Get them to drop their guard. There were no marks on the body. No signs of a struggle. No bruising. So you must of gained her trust-"

Daniel's head snapped up in stunned realisation, only seeing the mans vague blurred outlined though tear-filled and glasses-less vision, as Leesia's silken voice drifted to the foreground of his troubled mind. A stirring of a memory_. _

_- '…like I have been marked as yours.' _His fingers tracing around a reddened scrape on her shoulder blade… Seeing himself, standing behind her. He looked up to meet her eyes. She smiled. _'I love you, Daniel'…_

…'_Not real remember.'…_

'…_Marked as yours' - _

Snapping back to the present, Daniel staring at the cop in confusion. "Excuse me?" he choked out, his voice hindered by a wet sob, "No marks?"

Unmoved or uncaring to the man before him emotional distress, the cop watched him with calculating eyes, "If you didn't feel the need to hurt her, didn't even restrain her. Why d'ya have to kill her?"

Daniel sighed, slumped back in his seat and scrubbed both hands over his face. "We're going around in circles."Aggravated beyond belief, Daniel wanted to fold his arms across his chest in a gesture of stubborn determination, but the handcuffs wouldn't allow it, so he settled for interlocking his fingers instead. "Look either commit me or convict me, either way I'm done."

The man slammed the file folder down onto the desk with a slap. "We're done when I say we're done!" he shouted, scowling at Daniel.

Daniel scowled right back, refusing to be the one to break the stare off. The stale mate was finalised by a tap at the door.

The cop pushed himself up and purposely stormed out of the room, slamming the door harder than necessary.

Daniel heard the muffled voices from just outside the room, but he couldn't make out what they were saying, nor did he care.

"What is this?" The cops voice, loud enough now for Daniel to understand was ingrained with frustration and anger. "What interest does the Air-Force have in a murder case?"

"That is classified."

Daniel snapped his head around at the familiar voice. "Sam?" slipped from his lips. Dare he hope? Was she here? How?

Seconds later his friend and teammate pushed open the door and met his grateful eyes with a heartfelt smile. Mitchell followed, just behind her. "Hey, Sunshine. You alright?"

"This is highly irregular." the detective grumbled as them followed her into the room.

The pair ignored the cops boisterous rant in favour of giving Daniel the once over. Physically he seemed fine, if not a little tired looking, but the telltale redness around his eyes spoke volumes. He gawped back at them, hopefully stunned, like the first ray of sunlight to break through a black thunderstorm.

"You okay?" Sam asked worriedly. She had seen the televised report announcing that the escaped mental patient, Daniel Jackson, had been apprehended and was currently being held in connection to the murder of Lisa Smith. It was how they had tracked him down. Knowing her friends empathetic aptitude, she realised that being arrested on suspicion of murder would be a lot less distressing for him than the murder itself, but she couldn't help but notice that he seemed a lot more distressed than she had expected.

With half a dozen rapid blinks he seemed to focus. "Long story. Tell me you know what's going on."

It was the others turn to look taken aback. "You don't know?"

"Well, part of that long story includes amnesia," Daniel explained. "You better start at the beginning."

Sam gave a speeded glance with her eyes and a slight head tilt in the cop's direction. A gesture Daniel understood as meaning 'not in front of an audience' and he gave one nod back letting her know he got the message.

He could wait for his answers and judging by the speed Sam and Mitchell were now pacing out of here, dragging him along with them, he wouldn't have to wait long.

Following them out, the cop intersected them. "Don't even think about leaving the country," he growled at Daniel by means of a goodbye, before turning tail and striding back into the station.

Mitchell pulled Daniel's wrists towards him and taking a key from his back pocket, unlocked the cuffs. "Didn't say anything about leaving the planet, did he?" he grinned boyishly.

Five minutes later they were on the road, heading for Colorado. Sam was behind the wheel of the blacked out Volvo, taking advantage of the empty road and indulging her need for speed.

With a prompt from Daniel, she broke into her promised explanation. "We found the Ancient device on P3X-645."

"Drawing a blank." Daniel said sadly on the exhale.

"You know, grassy planet lots of potholes, trees and one time travel device at the end of the proverbial rainbow." Mitchell put in.

Daniel stared at them both for a long second waiting for the punch line. "A time machine?" He stated slowly, sounding utterly unconvinced. That didn't make any sense to him at all. They hadn't travelled in time. This wasn't the past or the future. Twisted, wrong and thoroughly screwed up - yes, but another time - no.

"Hey, you were the one that said it was a time machine, not us." Mitchell replied.

"I did?"

"Yeah, you got a match on those multi tablets things that you and Leesia were working on."

That at least rung a bell, but still didn't explain what the bulk of his questions. "But we haven't time travelled."

"You translated part of the text to mean 'editor of past', when it got activated." Sam told him.

"How?"

Neither of them answered him, but Daniel caught the telltale flick of the eyes in Cam's direction from Sam telling him all he needed to know.

And Cam's guilty expression confirmed it.

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, wondering if it would be completely hypocritical of him to tell the new guy not to go poking about with alien devices he knew nothing about. How many times had Jack told him that very thing, very pointedly.

As if seeing where Daniel's thoughts were going, Mitchell blurted out, "I wasn't the only one. You were touching it to."

"I can read it." Daniel retorted angrily. He sighed. Appointing blame was not going to rectify the problem. "So you think that's what's happened? We've edited the past and this is the result?"

"That's the only explanation I can think of," Sam said with a nod. "We know how messing with the timeline can have drastic effects on the present. This is one. We're living the consequences of our own actions."

"So can we go back and undo the effect?"

"That's what we're going to find out." Sam replied. "We've got the Stargate up and running, but we needed you for the translations. We've been looking for you for over a week." Sam added in a expectantly curious tone, clearly hoping Daniel would provide an explanation. She only had what had been reported on the news to go on and wanted to know the full scope of what had happened to her friend. The truth from his perspective. Judging by the look in his eyes it wasn't good. Not good at all.

…

It was too strange.

It looked like the SGC he knew, but there were too many differences to count. Each of the many soldiers and civilian scientist that darted past them were strangers to him. Although he did spot Sergeant Siler rush past carrying a giant wrench, so maybe not everything had changed.

Dressed in BDU's that were not his own, Daniel strode along in Sam and Mitchell's wake, his arms wrapped firmly around his waste.

In exchange for their own story of how they got the Stargate program up and running, Sam had managed to pry his twisted tale of the insane asylum, electro shock and Leesia's death out of him during there long journey here. Reliving it hadn't made him feel any better. In fact it had made it feel all the worse. Every time he blinked he saw her lax face, laying in his lap, unwavering eyes fixed over his shoulder, like the image was burned on the insides of his eyelids.

But as he made his way down the familiar, yet unfamiliar corridor towards the 'Gateroom, he clung to one hope: That this all could be undone.

The steal blast doors slid open and SG-1 made their way inside. Daniel half expected to see Jack or maybe even Hammond standing there, but the man that stood there waiting to greet them he didn't recognize.

"Daniel, meet Major General Hank Landry," Sam introduced and Daniel accepted the offered hand and shook it politely. "General, this is Doctor Daniel Jackson."

"Is something wrong, Doctor?" Landry asked when Daniel continued to just silently stare around.

"No," Daniel lied quickly. "It's just a lot to take in." The truth was he was beginning to feel like Alice in Wonderland and the rabbit hole was going a lot deeper than he had imagined was possible.

"You're telling me." Landry agreed warmly. "Wormholes, other populated planets, alternate timelines, alien races. And to think I only took this position as an easy ride towards retirement."

"It'll be one hell of a ride, sir." Mitchell promised with a smile.

With a nod from the General to the control room the Stargate spun to life. The splash back startling all but three of the gather people there to bare witness.

"Amazing," Landry said awestruck, staring up in wonder at the vertical twinkling puddle.

"That it is, sir. That it is," Mitchell replied, leading his team onto the ramp.

Sam paused before following. "We're really grateful for this." she told Landry sincerely.

"Please," Landry waved away her appreciation and gestured up to the Stargate. "I think you've more than reciprocate the favour."

"Even so," Daniel took over. "Thank you." he said with a earnest nod. He didn't want to think about what could have happened should this opportunity not been given to them.

Together they made their way up the ramp and stepped through the event horizon.

…

"This is Abydos," Daniel stated unnecessarily, gawping around the memorable inertia of the pyramid the Stargate had let them out in.

"We had no way of calibrating stellar drift without the DHD," Sam told him making her way over to the aforementioned device. "So we had to come here first."

"How did you know it would even be here?" Daniel asked. After all in their own timeline Abydos had been destroyed over a year ago.

"I didn't until the wormhole established." Sam replied. "But it does stand to reason. In this timeline you and Jack never defeated Rah, so Anubis would have gone after him and not this planet in search of the eye."

"Curiouser and curiouser." Daniel mumbled under his breath as for the second time in as many minutes the Stargate flashed to life.

…

The new planet was barren, dry and warm, with little plant life bar the abundance of trees. The three of them trudged side-by-side, with Daniel half a step behind allowing the others to guide him through the unknown location, heading for the problematic time machine.

"I've been thinking." Daniel began, sidestepping to avoid one of the many potholes of this planet.

Almost immediately he was interrupted by Cam, "There's a shocker."

Daniel shot Mitchell an irritate glare out of the corner of his eye, before continuing. "I don't think this is an alternate timeline."

"What makes you say that?" Sam asked knowing the Archaeologist wouldn't make such a statement without a theory or evidence to back up his claim.

"Because there are numerous inconsistencies. If this was the life we had lived up until now I would be scarred from a suicide attempt, also I would never have been ascended. Yet there's no scarring on either of my wrist and I could feel the energies between Leesia and myself." he told them, not wanting to add that he wasn't the only one that had changed in this…whatever it was. The cop had told him that there had been no marks on Leesia's… body (he couldn't hardly even think the word), but Daniel knew with certainty that there should have been at least three, one being the love bite he had given her on her lower neck.

Daniel swallowed down the emotional lump that had sprung up in his throat and ignoring the concerned looks he was getting from the others he forced himself to carry on. "Okay, the other time machine on P4X-639..."

"The time looper?" Mitchell quizzed.

"Yes. It took us out of the regular time space, correct?" he threw the question Sam's way.

Sam nodded in agreement. "It accessed the 'Gate's subspace field and created a time inversion outside of subspace. The Tok'ra said they were trying to contact us for months, but were unable to because we were cut off."

"Right, so it's possible that this device could have had the same effect? Pulled us out of our regular space time into this one somehow."

"Possibly." Sam stated slowing sounding unconvinced.

"Look I don't pretend to understand quantum physics but isn't it possible that this machine didn't just shift us into an alternate timeline, but sent us to, or actually created an alternate reality by branching off from the original timeline?" Daniel continued with his theory ignoring Sam's scepticism. "You yourself said that there are an unlimited number of realities, one where each and every possibility is played out. The Quantum Mirror proved that."

"But what would be the point?" Mitchell asked.

"Well how often have you wondered how different your life would be had you made a different decision? Walk a mile in different shoes, as it were. If I'd never been approached by Catherine, if you'd quit the Air Force," he said nodding towards Cam and then Sam, "And if you'd never taken the Transfer from the Pentagon. This is what our lives would be like."

"A 'grass is always greener' kind of thing?" Mitchell asked.

"In a manner of speaking." Daniel nodded.

"There's just one problem with your theory," Sam stated sadly, not wanting to crush Daniel's hopes, but believing he was clutching at straws in the understandable desire to get his wife back. "If this is an alternate reality, where are our other selves?"

…

"They're an hour past contact, sir." Walter informed Jack as soon as he entered the control room and before the General had time to ask.

'_No real surprise there,' _Jack thought, _'Science Twins, plus Ancient device, equals losing track of time.'_ He would have thought that Mitchell would have checked in though. For helpful hints, from a more experienced handler of the pair of scientist, if nothing else.

"Dial it up." he ordered.

Walter obeyed straight away (or maybe even a millisecond before) and through the plexi-glass window they watched the Stargate whirl to life.

As soon as the karwoosh settled to ripples, Walter leaned over the mic. "This is Stargate command calling SG-1..."

Silence interspersed with static was the only reply.

"SG-1, please respond…"

Just when he was about to call again, Mitchell's voice came back, sounding confused and tired. "Uh, hello?"

Jack took control of the mic, "Colonel Mitchell you're an hour past your scheduled check in. Report."

"Who is this?"

Taken aback, Jack looked around at the others in the control room, only to find a sea of blank faces. "This is General Jack O'Neill…What's going on?"

"Was hoping you could tell me," Mitchell replied. "I went to bed last night and woke up in the lost version of Raccoon City."

"Well this can't be good." Jack muttered under his breath. Aloud, into the mic, he asked, "Carter and Daniel?"

"Pretty blonde and a guy with glasses? They're here. They're…" his speech cut off but scuffling and scrunching noise came through the speakers, letting them know they still had reception. "…They're alive, just out cold."

Jack's mind was whirling. His team were alive, if not totally A-okay. Question was: What had happened to them. "Are you in any immediate danger?" he asked. The SUV survey of the planet hadn't revealed any threats, but something had knocked them all out that much was clear.

"Uh no?" I don't think so. There's no one here. There's nothing here, except for this stone whack-a-mole thing with the mallet missing."

"Sounds like they found the Ancient device, sir." Walter said.

"Ya think?" Jack shot back, before returning to the mic. "Okay, sit tight we're coming to get ya. And Mitchell, that stone thing…don't touch it."

It was as he feared. There'd been no ambush. What ever was up with his team had to be the effects of this Ancient device. And if history was anything to go on fixing problems caused by Ancient devices was never easy.

"Have SG-6 geared up and ready to leave asap." Jack barked. "And get Leesia down here." If Daniel was just as out of it as Mitchell they were going to need her Ancient know how to get to the bottom of this.

'_Dammit, Daniel!' _he cursed silently. He knew he shouldn't have let them go, but Daniel had been so wilfully insistent. More so than usual, and that was saying something. If they started looping time again, Jack was going to kill him.

…

"What the hell was that?" Mitchell demanded, eyeing the event horizon he had just stepped through over his shoulder. He followed a stretcher burdened SG-6 backwards down the ramp, unable to take his eyes off the glowing puddle, as if he'd never seen anything so spectacular in his life.

Jack and Leesia were there to great them, the later dashing straight over to the stretcher bearing an unconscious Daniel the second they came through the 'gate. Staying hinderingly close while he was transferred onto a gurney by the awaiting medical staff.

As soon as he was relieved of his burden, Colonel Barnes approached Jack, holding aloft a digital camera.

"You got it all?" Jack asked.

"Every square inch of the device." the Colonel confirmed with a nod.

"Good. Get it printed out. Debrief is in one hour."

…

Leesia tried. She really did, but the photo print outs of the Ancient device just didn't hold the same pull as the unconscious man that slumbered, seemingly peacefully in the infirmary bed alongside her.

After one more failed attempt to force herself to concentrate on the mass of pictured Ancient text, she admitted defeat and laid them on his covered thighs and reached up to stroke her hand lovingly over his lax features.

Janet had assured her that he was healthy, it wasn't a coma, and Daniel would wake up when he was good and ready. However what no one seemed to understand was it wasn't the fact that Daniel was still asleep that worried her. Yes, she was concerned that he remained asleep even though the others had awoken. Yes, she worried that they as yet didn't know the reason why they had all blacked out in the first place. But the main reason her anxiety was twisting in the pit of her stomach was that both Mitchell and Sam, once she had woken, held no memory of who anyone here was. If the same was the case with Daniel…God she didn't know what she would do. She had been forgotten by him before and she couldn't bear the thought that he could forget her again. He may have fallen in love with her all over again, but what if this time she wasn't as fortunate…What if this time she lost him for good? Going through the million 'what ifs' would do little but make her apprehension greater.

She squeezed her eyes closed, freeing a single tear as she did and shook her head, trying to rid herself of the negative thoughts. Getting herself worked up and upset wasn't going to help anyone.

Both Mitchell and then Sam had been questioned. And for the best they could figure they were still 'themselves'. Sam was still the same strong, independent and amazingly intelligent woman that they all know, and Mitchell was still the focus minded and wilful man he always had been behind that playful boyish humour. Neither had any idea of how they had come to be in this situation and both were ignorantly clueless of their life here at the SGC. It was like the more recent years of their lives had been over written. If the same was true for Daniel…she didn't want to think about it, after all the two of them had only known each other for two years and the first year he had very little memory of in the first place.

A soft moan had her attention snapping instantly back to his face. "Daniel?" she called, the apprehension clear in her voice.

As she watched, blue eyes blinked slowly open.

Almost immediately he sat bolt upright, sending the print outs scattering. His eyes widening in terror as they whipped around the room, his breathing becoming quick shallow pants.

"Daniel?" Leesia called, laying a comforting hand on his arm, trying to get his attention.

He didn't respond, just continued his panicked gazing.

"Daniel, Daniel," She lightly took hold of his face and turned him to face her. "Daniel, do you recognize me?"

Briefly he caught her eyes before dropping his line of sight, but much to her heartfelt relief he slowly nodded a 'yes'.

She let out a breath she hadn't been aware of holding, however his next question threw all her relief out of the window.

"Where are we?" he asked weakly.

She stared at him, stunned for a long second, then swallowing thickly she chocked out in disappointment, "You're in the infirmary, Daniel."

"Not treatment time?" he asked, his eyes scared and pleading. "No more."

"Treatment, what treatment? Daniel, what happened to you?"

"No more?" he begged fearfully.

"No. It is over now. There is no more." she told him quickly, trying to relieve his obvious distress. She had no idea what she was promising, but it seemed to calm him significantly, so she kept it up. "It is all right. Shh, you are safe here."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

He turned to her frowning in confusion, before scrubbing both his hands over his face, roughly. "It's a test. You're testing me."

"Daniel, Daniel look at me. Look. It is not a test. We just want to help." she said.

She couldn't help but worry about the limited amount of eye contact he was giving her. His eyes were the window into his soul. This was a man who she could usually read as easy as an book written in Ancient, but he was currently so closed off to her.

…

In the briefing room Jack was wracking his brains trying to recall every and any experience they had previously encountered in the past that could explain all this. With both of his top scientists presently out of commission and Leesia refusing to leave her husbands bedside, it was down to the rest of them to figure out what had happened to three quarters of SG-1. He didn't blame her, there was nothing he wanted more than to be with Sam right now, in her moment of need, but they needed answers right now more than they needed to be babysat.

"Oh I know," Jack blurted out, "Robots."

Teal'c and Janet both slowly turned to face him wearing matching looks of 'did-you-_really_-just-say-that?'

"Clones?" Jack offered sheepishly, waving his hand in the air as if he could erase his previous suggestion with the gesture alone.

Janet shook her head. "The DNA test proved that it is them."

"No abnormalities?" Jack mused.

"None, sir. For all intense and purposes it is them. I can find nothing physically that would explain any of this. Medically speaking, sir, there's nothing wrong with them."

"Aside from the fact that they can't remember anything."

"You are incorrect O'Neill, it is not that Colonel Mitchell and Samantha Carter do not remember anything, they merely have flawed memories."

"Conjured memories. Like on P3...whatever, the ice planet," Jack said. "You know, when they gave us the memory stamp and sent us to work in the mines. Couldn't this device have wiped their memories and stuck a bunch of new stuff in their head like they did on that planet?"

"For what purpose?" Teal'c inquired.

Leesia chose that moment to stride into the briefing room. "That man is not my Daniel."

"Leesia, I know this must be very upsetting for you," Janet said sympathetically. "But we've run all the test and it is Daniel."

"I do not understand nor care what the tests say," Leesia said, the harshness of her tone completely overpowered by her own fear and sadness. Her breaking voice making her sound close to tears. "I cannot feel his energies, therefore he cannot be my Daniel."

"Could he not simply be blocking them, Leesia Jackson?"

She gapped. "No, no he… he wouldn't he…Why can you not understand what I am saying?" she demanded, actually stomping her foot down hard on the floor as punctuation. "Daniel, Sam and Cameron are still out there! I was of the belief that you did not leave your people behind!"

"Hey!" Jack shout out in disagreeable defence. "We don't. And the three of them in the infirmary, that SG-6 just brought back at their own risk, is proof of that."

Jack's tone soften, as he saw the first of the tears fall. "It's not that we don't believe you." he said soothingly, as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, hoping it wouldn't make the waterworks worse. She speedily grabbed a tight hold, gratefully taking the comfort he was offering. "But I can't send good men out on a wild goose chase. We need to find out what happened before we can do anything. We need that translation."

"I only just got him back," she sniffed against Jack's chest.

"I know," Jack said, pulling back slightly in order to see her. "But I need you to hold it together for all of their sakes. Can you do that?"

Her watery eyes came up to his and she saw what he was saying without him needed to put it into words. It wasn't just her Daniel that was in trouble, it was his Sam also, as well as Mitchell. Jack was just as anxious and scared and confused as she was, he was just in a position where he couldn't show it.

Guiltily she hung her head, a tear rolling down her nose and dripping to the floor between them. Mutely she nodded.

"Thadda girl." Jack said, putting on a brave smile and rubbing her back. He hoped she would be up to the task.


	7. Chapter 7 Through the Looking Glass

Chapter 7 ~ Through The Looking Glass.

Coming to a skidded halt in the doorway of storage room C, Jack caught himself just in time from trampling all over the new design that decorated the floor. "Oh my!" he exclaimed sardonically.

Storage room C, the largest on level 17, had been transformed. The surplus MALP's and wooden crates have been pushed to the very edges of the room to make space for the wide giant X that tiles the floor. The cross that fills the room to its edges is made up of every photograph that SG-6 had taken. Each printout lay neatly aligned to create a perfect 2D representation of the Ancient device.

"Someone's been busy," he called over. _'Very busy indeed!'_

"Thank you for allowing me to use this space, Jack," Leesia said from her position knelt at the centre of her handiwork. "Daniel's office is not of adequate size."

"I can see that," Jack replied, eyes down, side stepping around the edges of the giant jigsaw.

"I had to view it all at once to be able to translate it accurately," Leesia explained crawling cautiously backwards towards Jack, careful so not to disturb each pictures position.

Well that at least made sense to Jack. Lay it all out to see what's what. Briefly he wondered why Daniel didn't do the same thing when he was… no. he caught himself just in time. If Daniel did this, with all the multi tasking he did, he'd need the whole floor, hell he'd probably need the whole mountain. So he kept the thought to himself. It was only good timing that had allowed this space free for Leesia's use.

"Needed to see the big picture eh?"

"Yes," Leesia stated simply.

Jack rolled his eyes. Clearly his cleverly well thought out puns where wasted on the former Ancient. "Find anything?" he asked hopefully.

"I believe so," she said, her attention still fixed on the fresh floor plan. "Some of the technical data is beyond my comprehension, but Bill as well as Sam's detailed notes have helped. I believe I now know what has happened, but I hope I am mistaken."

He didn't the way she said that. Confidant, yet clearly desperately fearful. True she had been wrong in the past, but only by assumption. Never after research. He asked the question he knew he wasn't going to like the answer for.

"Why's that?"

"Because if I am right," she said, finally taking her eyes off her work and looking up at Jack, her face a mask of worry. "They have not been having an pleasant time… Daniel least of all."

**…**

"So, I was right," Daniel asked, his face a mask of bewildered distress, as if he couldn't, or didn't want to believe his own words.

After Leesia's confusing and concerning explanation, Jack had called for a briefing to explain her findings to everyone at once. But, she had requested telling Daniel beforehand.

While this version of Doctor Daniel Jackson looked every bit like her husband, he was so different in so many ways. She had spent all the time she could spare away from the printouts with him. Listening to his life story (Which was the same as her Daniel's up until joining the Stargate programme. This Daniel hadn't had the offer) and giving comfort where she could.

Not only did he have to deal with the fact that this wasn't his reality, which in itself would be hard to get his head around. But he also was now finding out that he had suffered needlessly. She knew that finding out everything that he had been told was delusions of his damaged mind was in fact true and there was nothing wrong with him mind, could be a difficult pill to swallow. He would want some time to process that information and she didn't think it would be wise to drop that bomb shell on him in a room full of people he viewed as strangers.

And as she watched his face morph into that pouting frown that she knew meant he was deep in troubled thought she knew she had done the right thing.

"I was right," he repeated after a long while, sounding like he was trying to convince himself. He looked up at her for conformation.

"Yes," Leesia said warily. She knew what her Daniel's reaction would be - Questions, questions and yet more question - but this Daniel was different. He didn't ask. He merely sat on the bed of the quarters he had been assigned on base, staring idly at the empty air in front of him.

In his four years of involuntary commitment to mental health he had grown used to not having his questions answered, his opinions ignored and over time his voice had faded to mute. She wanted to reach out to him, let him know that she was there and she was listening, but he reacted so badly to touch she restrained herself, hoping her presence alone would be comfort enough.

He hesitated before he wrapped his arms around his torso, but then let go almost immediately and folded his hands in his lap instead. Like he doesn't know what to do with himself…Or he doesn't like being confined, she ponders, even by his own arms. So, so different from her Daniel, who sort comfort so much that he subconsciously gave it to himself.

He then fell still and Leesia could practically see the clogs whirling inside his head.

She waiting patently while he worked it all through. It took a while, after all it was a lot to get his head around, but eventually he looked up at her.

"About everything? About the pyramids and-" He swallowed thickly, and she saw his expression shift to pained. "-And Sarah?"

Leesia silently cursed herself. She should have seen that coming. He had told her he had seen it with his own eyes. Seen the Goa'uld freed from the canopic jar and burrow into her neck. Seen her eyes flash with white evil. Taken the backhanding that followed and when he had come to again, he had told everyone who were willing to listen (and more than a few who weren't), in the hope of finding her, helping her. He refused to be silenced and the rumours that he was losing his mind started circulating. When Sarah didn't return they had jumped to the conclusion that Daniel was involved. It had been the final nail in the coffin in people's doubts in his sanity. From then on it was only a matter of time before someone had him involuntarily committed to mental health.

Yet he didn't seem to be concerned about his unnecessary commitment. His guilt seemed focused on Sarah and she knew what he must be thinking: That he should of tried harder, insisted more that she was abducted, fought harder, than maybe he could have saved her.

Leesia knew better. There was nothing he could have done. Deep down he must have known that too, but he was blaming himself anyway.

Maybe he wasn't so different from 'her' Daniel after all.

"I was right," he said again slowly, more to himself than to anyone else, as if by repeating it he could make take the edge off the hugeness of what she was telling him.

Absently, he started running his fingers over the scars that striped his left wrist. Scars left by what he had seen as his only way out of the horror that his life had turned into.

She couldn't help but reach for him then. There was just too much buried pain in his voice and the way he was fingering his scars, almost longingly, it was too much for her to bear to see without taking action. Although he tensed as she made contact he allowed her to gently lift his hand away from his wrist and clasp it between both of hers.

His eyes fell on their joined hands. Fearful as if the touch is going to cost him too much. He sucked in a quick wavering breath. "So what happens now?"

"That is what we are having the briefing for," she said standing and leading him to the door.

He froze just outside and she turned to look at him questioningly.

"Will I have to go back?" he asked sorrowfully.

That was the question she had been hoping he wouldn't ask. Because she knew in order to get her Daniel back this one would have to return to where he belonged. A reality that shunned him, hurt him and had driven him to suicide.

But it was only a maybe at the moment. She had no idea if she could even undo the effects of the device.

"I do not know," she told him sadly.

He pursed his lips and nodded bravely, before leading the way down the corridor.

**…**

"So, G.I Barbie, McMurphy here," Mitchell said, pointing in turn to Sam and then to Daniel, "and myself, are from an alternate reality?" He looked around the others in the briefing room for an answer, his gaze finally falling on General O'Neill at the head of the table.

"That pretty much sums it up," Jack said with a nod. Hoping it would 'sum up' the explanation.

However, the look that this Carter wore told him otherwise.

"With respect, sir. I don't think so," the Major said, "The multiverse theory speculates that, while there are a number of possible realities, if this was in fact another reality then our alternate selves would also be here."

"I'm sorry, McMurphy?" Daniel interrupted, frowning at Cameron in confusion.

"One flew over the cuckoo's nest," Teal'c replied and Daniel's frown shifted to him, looking up with questioning eyes. "A movie where a man deceives people into believing he is insane to escape punishment of the law."

"Oh…Well, thanks for that," Daniel said sarcastically.

Leesia sifted through the photos, that had been her near constant companions for the last nine days. Finding the one she was looking for she laid it on the table for the others to see. "I believe this section of the text explains that," she said to answer Sam's earlier question. "It states that in order to avoid a near certain death, the traveller is switched with their corresponding self."

"What does that mean?" Sam asked at the same time Daniel's eyes widened impressively and he asked, "You can read this?"

"As can you from this reality," Leesia answered Daniel's question, then to Sam she said, "I believe that it means had both of yourselves been here, or rather in your reality, they would have died, so the device exchange each of you for your own safety."

"So they've been living our lives?" Mitchell asked. "What's to be done?"

"I will go to the planet," Leesia answered adamantly, "See if I can work the device to undo what has been done."

Jack was about to protest. Sending Leesia off solo would not be a plan that Daniel - their Daniel - would approve of. However he didn't need to worry. As always, Teal'c had their back, firmly telling Leesia "I will accompany you."

**…**

Unknowing that their rescue was already in effect, the real SG-1 had already found the problematic device. While Daniel read over the markings on the outer casing, Sam busied herself with the interior of the sliding draw-like compartment at the base.

"Traveller is switched with the corresponding other..." Daniel muttered, his fingers absently brushing over the passage he was translating aloud. "That's interesting."

"What?"

"This passage here," Daniel told them both, his attention fixed to the Ancient device, "it says: Traveller is switched with the corresponding other."

"Switched?" Mitchell exclaimed. "As in swapped?"

"That's what it says." he said Matter-of-factly.

"It must be a safety measure to ensure against Entropic cascade failure," Sam said, pausing her own study to muse over what this would mean for the group of them. "It would stand to reason that a culture as advanced as the Ancients would know of the problems involved with inter reality jumping and device a solution."

"So I was right?" Daniel asked. "About this being an alternate reality?"

Sam nodded. "So it would seem," she said, returning to her read outs. The lack of their alternate selves had been the bases of her doubts in Daniel's theory. If they had swapped places with their counterpart, as the inscription claimed, it explained everything.

"He was?" Mitchell asked, and Daniel couldn't help but notice the surprise in his tone.

He shot an angry glare the Colonel's way. "You don't have to sound so shocked about it. It does happen from time to time you know!"

"I'm not shocked about that, I'm shocked about _that_," Mitchell said, gesturing to the device. "Here I was thinking we'd pulled a McFly and suddenly its turns out we've taken a wrong turn and ended up in the twilight zone. And while we're been struggling with setting up the Stargate program virtually from scratch, escaping from loony bins and springing people from the joint, our alternate selves have been sitting back and enjoying all the little perks _our_ lives have to offer."

"Pretty much," Daniel agreed dryly, not liking the thought that his alternate self (his potentially not-completely-all-right-in-the-head alternate self) has been spending the last week and a half with his unsuspecting and wholeheartedly trusting wife. He dreaded to think of what could be happening if Leesia was just as fooled by his other self he had been by hers.

From her knelt position, Sam jabbed her elbow at his calf and Daniel realised that she had been speaking to him.

"Sorry, what?"

She gave him a sympathetic smile, as if she knew, or at least had guessed at where his trail of though had been. "I said, there's something engraved on this crystal disc," she told him, pointing the one she was referring to. "Can you read this?"

Daniel leaned in to peer over her shoulder, so he could get a closer look at the disc she was talking about. "Uh…return…original."

"I thought you'd say something like that. There is the same power readings as the memory crystal in the DHD," Sam told them, her eyes wide with excitement.

Daniel and Mitchell looked at each other, both seemed as bewildered as the other. "Meaning?" Cam prompted Sam.

"Jumping between realities carries potentially cataclysmic risks. I would think it would be safe to assume that the Ancients would have predicted that and include a failsafe on a device such as this."

Mitchell leaned in, "Are you saying that if we activate this failsafe it could get us home?"

"No the memory in these crystals are empty."

"Because this isn't the device we used. That one is back in our reality," Daniel finished for her.

"So how does that help us?" Mitchell asked.

"It doesn't," Sam told him, "In order for us to be," she pursed her lips briefly, while she thought of the right word. Finally settling on, "…recalled, the crystal in the device in our reality would have to be activated. The problem is-"

"Whoa!" Mitchell interrupted. "There's a bigger problem then 'we're screwed unless they get us back'."

"With an infinite number of possible timelines, the amount of data imprinted on the crystal would have to be colossal. I doubt that it would hold more than one jump."

"So if they attempt to use it in anyway other then the recall-"

"-There would be no way of getting back," Sam concluded.

**…**

Leesia was closely watching her tread as she did her best to keep up with Teal'c's wider strides. The planet surface was a minefield of dips and trip hazards. It would be only too easy to stumble. Luckily, the sparse planet-life meant she could spot them easily enough. She was grateful for that. It meant she could focus on Teal'c while he explained a previous experience of reality jumping, when the SGC had been visited by an alternate Samantha Carter and Charles Kawalsky. When he had gotten to the part about cascade failure she had subconsciously quickened her pace, before she realised that this was not the case in this instance. However she now had a broader understanding of the danger the passage on the device had warned about.

After a too long trek over the uneven wilderness, they finally arrived.

Careful to not dislodge the multiple columns of varying heights that made up the centre panel, Leesia quickly found the button she had identified as the activation switch along the far side.

"Are you confident you will be able to work it?" Teal'c asked, intently watching the woman as she closely studied the device.

"It was created by the Ancients," Leesia said, "And their technology has a certain familiar…feel to me."

"That does not answer my question," Teal'c said, his tone one of sympathetic understanding rather than harsh.

Leesia turned to face the Jaffa and seeing the knowing look in his eyes, decided honesty was her only option. "I have no idea where to begin," she stated truthfully, her confession directed to her feet. "I have read every word, repeatedly and there is no writing on how to bring back travels. Only how to follow them. It is my hope that from their end there may be a chance I could…" she broke off slowly shaking her head. It was a long shot and she knew it, but it was the only chance she had.

"You intend to use this device to join them?"

"Yes," she answered simply. Turning her eyes up to meet Teal'c she continued. "But you knew that already?"

"Indeed," he confirmed with a nod. "How can you be certain it will take us where we need to go."

"As long as the device has not been touched since it was last used, it will be already set to the reality they are currently within…and it will be just me going." she added firmly. Quickly continuing when she saw Teal'c about to argue. "If you switch with your counterpart there is no judging what damage you could do to that reality, where you will end up, or if you will even be able to get to any of us. But if the Daniel here is correct then the me from their reality is a nurse-"

"-And will be with Daniel Jackson." Teal'c finished.

Leesia nodded. "Yes, and if he is mistaken, which I believe is far more likely, then my counterpart will be with the Ascended and therefore will not be effected by this."

"Are you sure this is wise?"

"It is definitely not wise. Playing with Ancient technology rarely is," she said, thinking of the situation that she was about to go into. One that the Daniel currently back in the SGC was only too happy to be out of. That Daniel was safe, hers however…she didn't want to consider what trouble he might be in. "But I belong by his side, Teal'c. Wherever that may be."

Teal'c nodded his understanding. "Then I wish you luck, Leesia Jackson."

"Thank you," she said with a grateful nod.

Hand hovering ready over the button, she said, "You better stand back." He did and then, with a deep unsteady breath, Leesia pushed down the button.

In a sickeningly dizzy flash, Teal'c vanished.

No, it wasn't Teal'c that had disappeared, she quickly realised, it was her.

Three synchronised gasps from behind had her spinning on the spot. And there he was! There they all were, each looking equally as baffled as the next.

She couldn't believe finding them had been that easy.

Daniel could do nothing but stare, slacked-jawed at the materialisation of his wife right before his eyes. Only that moment he was desperately trying to rid himself of the horrid imagine of her lying dead, gunshot wound to the chest, bleeding out in the dank motel room. But no matter how hard he tried, it seemed his mind had other ideas and refused to push away the memory. In fact the opposite was true. It seemed to him that every time he closed his eyes, blinked, he was thrown back to the moment he hovered over her lifeless corpse.

And suddenly she was here. Appearing out of nowhere like an angel. Right in front of him. Barely more than an arms reach away and he couldn't move. Couldn't speak. He could barely think.

Her lips were moving. She must be speaking to him, but he couldn't make out a single syllable, let alone the whole words or their meaning. Then her face was right up close. Chocolate brown eyes filled with love and concern scanned over him. While warm hands held his face. Warm hands. Alive hands.

Briefly he felt the sensation of falling, before a patch of small blurred peddles and dirt replaced her in his field of vision. He vaguely made out some of their words through the dim of uncertainty. Words like 'Shock' and softer encouraging words telling him 'Breathe' and 'Easy'.

Then almost as suddenly as it had come on, the vale lifted and bright colour and sharp sound bombarded him. He was sat on the ground with his head between his knees. Someone was rubbing his back.

He jerked his head up.

"You alright there, Sunshine?" Mitchell asked him and the rubbing ceased, but Daniel didn't answer. His eyes sort and glued to the woman before him. Hesitantly, he reached up and touched her face. She was wearing the standard issue olive green BDU's and while the look didn't diminish her caring appearance it did sow the seeds of doubt. What if this wasn't his Leesia either? What if this was one that had joined SG-1? He didn't want to hope only to have it crushed if his fears were confirmed.

But she smiled at him in that loving way that she had, as if he was the only person on the planet and he couldn't stop the hope taking a firm hold in his chest.

He swallowed nervously, "Leesia? Is it … you?"

She took in his confused and desperately pleading expression, the way his lower lip quivered as he inhaled and the sadness in his baby blues. Instinctively she realised words alone weren't going to be enough to convince him. He needed proof. Proof that he could see with his own eyes. But what?

And suddenly it was crystal clear. Quickly she unzipped her vest, then jacket, she tugged down the neckline of the black t-shirt beneath. "It is me."

He blinked at her in confusion for a few seconds, before his eyes drifted up her hand, over the finger housing her wedding ring, up until he spotted the small oval shaped mark that stained the flawless skin low down on her throat. There was no doubt in his mind what that mark was.

It was a love bite.

Sure, it had faded. Changed from deep red to a pale yellow in the nearly two weeks since it had been made, but it was defiantly in the exact same place he had given her the morning before he left.

It really was her. The real her. From his own reality. The one he had marked. The one he had married. The one he loved. The one who loved him back.

He practically threw himself at her and clutch her tight against him.

She eagerly close her arms around him, returning his embrace enthusiastically. Snuggling her face into the hollow of his shoulder she felt those reassuring tingles spark against her cheek and took a deep breath, breathing in his familiar scent. Smiling, she gave a soft contented sigh.

It was only then that she realised he was trembling in her arms and suddenly she worried that his initial shock was returning. "Daniel, you're shaking."

He didn't reply. Just tightened his hold on her, as if fearful that she was about to disappear.

With difficulty, due to how close he was holding her, she turned her head and peeked over his shoulder at Sam and Cameron, searching for an explanation.

They both wore matching hesitant expressions. Neither one of them able to say the reason was due to the fact that mere hours beforehand Daniel had been cradling her corpse.

Getting no response, Leesia gently stroked her fingers through the short hairs on the back of his head. "Daniel?" she prompted worriedly.

The tone to her voice seemed to snap him out of it. He didn't want to cause her concern. He back off slowly, taking hold of her hand as it slipped down his arm. "Sorry," he said with an embarrassed humourless chuckle. Then pressed his lips to a firm line to prevent the threatening tremble. "It just… It's just really, really good to see you." '_Alive_' he added silently as an after thought.

He gave her a weak smile, hoping to give her some reassurance. She returned it, just as weakly. He wasn't fooling anyone.

But before she could question his strange behaviour further Mitchell spoke.

"Yeah, it is really good to see you, Lees. But, no offence, you've actually put us in a difficult situation."

She silently looked up at the Colonel in confusion. How could her being here make any difference to their situation?

Seeing the puzzled look on her friends face, Sam explained, "By using the machine from our reality you've actually made getting back impossible."

"I have?"

Sadly Sam nodded. "There's a recall crystal on the inside."

"Kind of a Control zee kinda deal," Cam added. "Would have undone our jump."

"And if it's activated now?" Leesia asked.

"It would only undo the last jump. Which would be yours."

Leesia looked over each of them in mournful regret. "I am so sorry. It was not my intention to cause-"

Seeing the guilty look that had dawned on his wife's beautiful features, Daniel quickly interrupted, "Of course it wasn't," he said, giving her hand a squeeze. He for one wouldn't blame her and certainly didn't want her to blame herself. However worse it may have made their situation, he wouldn't regret her presence here. "And we'll find a way. Nothing's impossible."

"Improbably then," Sam corrected.

Leesia's eyes fell on the Ancient device. "We cannot use this device to go home?"

"It's not as simple as that," Sam said. "I wish it were, but we have no way of knowing which reality it would take us to and we've already messed this one up. We can't risk doing that to another and even if we could, with the amount of realities we could search for lifetimes and still never find our own."

Leesia's ground her teeth. "There is no way to tell before we get there." she said sadly to herself. Why hadn't she realised that before she came? Why hadn't she taken the time to check the inertia of the device before she rushed in head first? _'Because you were not thinking,' _her mind reminded her. _You were only concerned with getting back to Daniel'_

"No," Sam confirmed sadly. This is a completely new piece of technology, this isn't like anything we've encountered before-."

"The quantum mirror," Daniel interrupted suddenly. Stunned that the idea was only just coming to him now. "The one from P3R 233. In this reality it could still be there."

Mitchell looked hopefully between the two scientist on his team. "Will that work?"

"Theoretically," Sam nodded. "If we can find our own reality."

Mitchell beamed at the other man, "Genius."

"Thank you," Daniel smiled back.

**...**

A.N ~Please review.


	8. Chapter 8 Amends

**Chapter 8 ~ Amends**

Jack replaced the red phone in its cradle and turned to Teal'c (who before the phone call he had believed was now his solo remaining member of his flagship team). The stun of what he had just heard had made his features almost expressionless.

"They're back." he told the Jaffa in bewildered tonelessness. "All of them. Leesia too. The guys at area 51 just found them in a locked room with the quantum mirror."

Teal'c's almost smile expression turned to one of confusion. "Was that not destroyed, O'Neill?"

"Lucky for us, no," Jack told him. "Hammond was over ruled. The bigwigs thought it could be useful if Earth was ever invaded and the president agreed with them."

Jack had always suspected that the decision had been influenced by Kingsley. If Earth ever did fall to the Goa'uld the mirror would provide a perfect escape route and up until this very moment Jack had always cursed the man for his cowardice. Now he could have kissed him.

Okay…Maybe not, but he was certainly grateful.

…

They were waiting topside, along with what seemed like most of the SGC personnel, when the MIA team made their long awaited appearance.

The four of them climbed out of the vehicle looking tired but happy. As they approached their friends and co-workers, Sam eyes fell to Jack's. Her face instantly brightened with a coy smile and Jack felt an ache stab at his heart. God, he had missed her. So much more than he had admitted, to anyone, even to himself.

He didn't care about the audience, the many eyes of the personal that had gathered to welcome back the team. In fact he hardly gave them a moments thought.

Instead he took hold of her tightly, and grinning like a madman, spun her on the spot. When he lowered her carefully back down onto her feet he quickly locked his mouth over hers in a searing kiss.

It was only when the many loud whoops registered in his mind that he remembered that they weren't alone. Arms glued around Sam's waist and back, Jack broke the kiss to look about them. Looking somewhat surprised by the mass of people, the grinning, whistling and some even applauding personnel, Jack swallowed hard. This wasn't exactly how he wanted the truth about Sam and his relationship to come out. But then again, he mused, at least it would put end to the rumours that her and Mitchell were an item (as well as other rumours that circulated that he didn't want to look into too deeply). He shrugged nonchalantly and dove in for another deep kiss.

When the roar died down, he tucked Sam safely under his arm and for the first time surveyed the rest of the team. Mitchell seemed no worse for wear after the ordeal. Leesia was beaming, her tiny hand all but covered from its position clutched tightly in Daniel's much larger one.

Daniel, however, didn't look so hot. Sure he was wearing a relieved smile, but it didn't reach his tired looking eyes, and his hunched shoulders that seemed like they were trying to swallow him whole betrayed his attempt at appearing happy. No siree, Daniel was not a happy camper, but Jack knew there was more chance of hell freezing over then getting Daniel to fully admit what was bothering him, especially in front of all these people. So he settled for giving his best friend a reassuring pat on his tense shoulder.

"Been rough?" he asked sympathetically, half expecting Daniel to shrug his hand off and give him the usual 'I'm fine' response.

But Daniel surprised him by nodded earnestly. "Remember the Ma'chello bugs?" he said through an exhale, shoving his free hand deep in his pocket. "This was worse."

Daniel didn't elaborate further, but getting any reply out of him managed to concern Jack even more than he really was. Even if it was given in a half-hearted attempt at humour. It just wasn't Daniel's style to admit any suffering he may have…well, suffered. Or maybe he was just being overly paranoid because of the state his counterpart had been in when he had first gotten here.

Making a mental note to get the particulars out of his friend, Jack let the matter drop (for now) and continued, "So what happened?" he asked, directing his question at the group of them in general.

"Well it wasn't a time machine as such," Daniel admitted looking sheepish. He ignored Jack's customary 'Ya think' catchphrase and confessed, "I don't actually remember much of it." He looked over to Sam, who immediately jumped into a detailed and confounding explanation of they're study of the device and how it had been activated, with Mitchell adding that the 'New Guy' had indeed learnt his lesson.

"Next thing we know we're back on Earth and everything was different. They didn't have the Stargate, I was still working at the Pentagon and Cam had quit the Air Force. I can't tell you how difficult it was to get it up and running." she concluded several long minutes later.

"Wanna swap?" Jack asked her jokingly.

Sam giggled playfully. "That depends. Do you want to wake up in bed with Mayor Davis?"

"Actually I'm good." Jack revoked quickly, looking bemused, before he jerked to face her, brow low. "Davis? Really?"

"Jealous?" she teased mockingly.

"No," he lied too quickly to be convincing. "It's just Samantha," he jerked his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the mountain, where the counterparts where. "never mentioned it."

Sam giggle again, more enthusiastically and leaned back for another kiss. Of course her Jack would never admit his jealousy, but that didn't mean he wasn't. He hid it well behind humour, but it was still there. "Samantha?" she questioned. Jack never called her Samantha. Sam, Carter and pet names aplenty, but never Samantha,

"Yeah. Having to clarify which of you we were talking about every time got old real quick," he explained. "So we're calling them Samantha, Dan and Cameron now."

"Oh, I'm sure he's loving that," Daniel said sardonically. He was more than used to Jack's ample use of nicknames for him: Danny, Danny-boy, Space Monkey, and even once 'Plant-Boy', but shortening it to simply 'Dan' was not something he had ever liked. It just didn't sound like HIS name.

"Better than being called 'The Other'," Jack mused.

"Good point," Daniel agreed with a slight head tilt.

"Now we're back, we should expect entropic cascade failure to start around forty-eight hours from now." Sam said.

"Right, that's our deadline…No pun intended." Jack said. "Let's get those guys home."

"Is there no way for them to stay?" Leesia suddenly spoke up. Seeing everyone's slightly surprised expression, she continued, "Daniel, the other-I mean, Dan. He does not wish to return."

"He said that?" Jack asked. He wasn't surprised the man would be reluctant to return, however it was highly unlike the Daniel he knew trouble others with his problems, no matter how morbid it may be.

"Well, not in so many words," she reluctantly admitted. Then turned the full force of her wide sorrowful eyes on each of them in turn. "But it was very clear. Besides how can we send him back to that life?" she said beseechingly. "One where he is alone, ignored…unloved." With the last word she gazed up at Daniel, knowing he was her best hope for support in the matter.

Daniel signed and tenderly tightening his grip on her hand, sadly shook his head. "He can't stay here, Lees," he told her sympathetically. "He'll die."

"I know. But we cannot just throw him back. We have to do something."

…

Daniel was not loving this plan.

As far as plans go it was solid. With her alternate self diseased, Leesia would be safe from the effects of ECF. Unfortunately that also meant that she was the only one safe to travel and therefore none of them could accompany her. Using her ability it should be simple to fix the other Daniel's records, so he could be released from mental health. As for him being the main suspect for her murder, as Sam had pointed out, there can't be a murder without a body. All it would take was three shots from the Zat that Leesia would be armed with to fix that little problem.

But just because he couldn't find fault with it's logic, didn't mean he had to like it. It only meant that he didn't have a leg to stand on when trying to find an opposing argument.

And so he stood in a petulant silence, arms wrapped tightly around his middle, frowning and pouting while he watched the preparations.

The quantum mirror had been set up in one of the holding cells, under 24 hour armed guard. A precautionary measure Jack had ordered, in case some unfriendly should use it trying to gain a foothold.

Mere hours before, Daniel had been so grateful at the sight of that alien mirror, his route home, his escape from the nightmarish other reality…now he couldn't wait to see the back of it.

Of course no matter how many gate addresses needed memorising, or how detailed the workings of the medical and legal system was, Leesia couldn't help but noticed her husbands silent distress. So while the Mitchell's where going over old times and the Sam's were excitedly discussing the finer points to gate travel, she snuck over to her a very sulky looking Daniel.

"What is troubling you?" she asked low enough to not draw others attention, and looking up at him with concerned eyes.

Daniel hesitated, looking embarrassed. Shifting his weight, he stole a brief glance over at his other self, who stood motionless by the mirror, anxiously waiting. He had experienced enough of his less fortunate self's life to want to change things for him, but he couldn't help his more selfish thoughts wishing that by doing so didn't mean Leesia disappearing from his side for God knows how long. He couldn't admit the full scope of his reasons. He couldn't risk guilting her into staying. She was critical to the plan. The key element. Without her there was no plan. And if she knew how badly he needed to keep her close right now, how every time he closed his eyes he saw her lifeless in his arms, she would never leave. So what could he tell her?

He bent low, so his lips were millimetres from her ear and whispered, "I'm jealous." He could admit that much safely. It wasn't a lie as such. It was just, of all of his current troubling thoughts, it was the easiest one to admit.

"Of yourself?" she questioned.

Daniel merely shrugged and toed the floor so he could keep his eyes down and out of her searching and irritatingly insightful gaze.

She chuckled and rose up on her tiptoes so she could reach his lips. "You are the only Daniel Jackson that holds my heart." she assured him, pressing a kiss on both his cheeks and a third on his lips. "You must know that."

He gave her a smile, hoping that it was as heartfelt as he wished and didn't betray any of his internal turmoil. However his hope was short lived, when her light grin, leftover from her chuckling, dropped slowly from her features. Replaced with a concerned look as her eyes flicked back and forth over both of his, as if searching to see which one would be more forthcoming with the truth.

Tucking her hand in the crook of his elbow, she turned to the others and said politely, "Excuse us for a moment," before tugging him out of the room.

She towed Daniel down the corridor, into the elevator and then onward into his office. There was more to this than simple jealousy and she knew it. She also knew that he would never confess whatever it was in front of an audience.

She closed the door behind them and pulled them into a tight hug. "What is it, Daniel?" she spoke beseechingly into his chest. "Please talk to me. Tell me what has you so troubled."

Loving the closeness, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her as tight as he could. He kissed the top of her head and whispered into her hair, "I'm fine, really. I just…I really missed you."

She slipped her hand inside the back of his shirt and traced patterns into the small of his back while she silently waited for him to continue.

The touch was reassuring, comforting and loaded with those blazingly distracting tingles that always seemed to grip is attention in more ways than one. He had to close his eyes and concentrate to be able to speak, while her fingers ghosted over his skin, sending tremors up his spine. He swallowed hard. "_Really_ missed you." he emphasised.

"And now as soon as we get back I am going again." she said in thoughtful understanding.

He nodded in agreement, glad that he hadn't had to say it himself out loud. "I just wish we had more time." he told her honestly. Time to put his demons to rest, and bury those terrible visions. Time with her to allow his treacherous subconscious to believe she was truly here with him and alive. He simply wasn't ready to have her leave so soon after.

"We have some time now," she said softly, sliding her arms up further inside his t-shirt, brushing her forearms across his bare skin and sending a fresh onslaught of tingles through him. "Lets make the most of it while we can."

Taking advantage of his bowed head, she bounced lightly up on her toes and clamped her mouth to his.

"Lees," he said glumly, breaking the kiss. Pulling her arms from around him, he gently pushed her back, parting them slightly. He bit his lower lip while thinking of the best way to word what needed to be said.

She frowned up at him with confused, worried eyes. "Do you not desire me at present?"

"You know that's not it," he said, quickly shaking his head to dispel that belief. He honestly couldn't think of a time when he hadn't desire her. It was those breathe-catching tingles, that even now where coursing though him from only their slightest touch. But he couldn't take advantage. Not with his infidelity hovering over his head.

Taking a deep breath and stealing up all his courage, he blurted out, "I kissed her," before he could allow himself the chance to bottle out of his admission. "The other you. I... I kissed her."

She stumbled another half a step back, her expression unreadable other than the shock that stood out painfully obvious.

"I thought it was you," he continued rapidly, trying his best to explain. "Had I known, you know I never would have kissed her. You have to know that."

She remained silent and he dared a peek at her. Her shocked hadn't abated and he really wished he could tell what she was thinking.

With a resound sigh, he carried on, "I should've known. I should have seen it straight away. Right from the start. She was different and…" He shot out a shaky sigh and nervously licked his lips. "Jack told me - he said you knew it wasn't me. Despite the fact that they all tried to tell you otherwise. I should have too. She was using another name for Christ sake. But I didn't and I-"

"Stop," she told him firmly. Taking him by surprise, she quickly closed the small gap between them and pressing her fingers to his speedily quivering mouth, to silence him.

"Are you really telling me that you feel bad for kissing _ME_?"

He dropped his head in frustrated guilt. "It wasn't you."

"By chance only," she argued. "From what I understand of the device, it would have only taken a small diversion in the past for that to be me, my life." She tilted her head, trying to meet his eyes, but he kept his bowed. "You cannot be faulted for something you did not know." she added softly.

He knew that what she was saying was the truth, but it didn't make him feel any better about it. She had been different. Maybe not in looks, nature or feel, but there was differences none the less. The way she spoke and phrases she used, it was more…(he couldn't think of a better way to explain it) more Earth-like, more human. He should have seen it right from the first time she walked into that padded cell and called him 'Honey' that it wasn't really his wife. It was someone who had spent far longer as a part of the human race on Earth than HIS Leesia had.

He was beating himself up, and she could see it. See it clearly in his slightly trembling pout, subtly mournful expression and in the way he refused to look anywhere other than at his restless toes.

"Do you know how I recognized it was not you?" she asked softly, interrupting his inner flogging.

Curiously he raised his head, peeking at her over the top of his glasses.

"He was never ascended," she told him, stepping back up close and letting her wanton hands retake their former position inside his t-shirt. Allowing their shared tingles to emphasis her point for her. "We did not spark. If we had…I doubt I would have known."

He brought his head up, looking at her rather doubtfully. Whether she was just saying that to humour him or if she honestly believed that, he couldn't tell. Either way he appreciated her effort and gratefully returned his arms to their pleasing place around her waist.

"Had I not realised would you have held it against me?"

"No, of course not," he quickly confirmed.

"Well then?" she grinned.

Smiling and with an astonished shake of his head, he snorted at her not-so-subtle point. And was just about to respond when he found unable to speak as his lips were caught in a searingly fierce kiss.

"The need to feel you is too strong," she gasped out almost apologetically in explanation, as she freed his lips. Her hands tugging his over shirt off his broad shoulders.

Dumb-founded by the drastic change in mood, Daniel blinked rapidly. How had he not noticed that mischievous twinkle in her eyes before now? Too caught up in less pleasant thoughts, he guessed, but he was not usually so unobservant. But then again, he mused, she had always been able to drive him to distraction, oh so easily. Even now as her hands were working loose his belt, all he could do was stupidly stare.

"Shoes."

He blinking increased, when he realised she had spoken. "W-what?" he stammered.

"Shoes." she repeated, nodding downwards.

He followed her line of sight. His pants were pooled around his ankles, trapped in place by his bulky footwear.

"Oh."

Suddenly his mind seemed to snap into place and he speedily toed them off. "We don't have long," he warned, as he pulled his t-shirt off over his head, tossing it haphazardly to the floor.

"I know. However, I cannot wait." she said breathlessly, pulling him back down to her hungry mouth.

They frantically groped and discarded her own clothing, leaving a shambolic trail in their wake, as they stumbled blindly backwards, until Leesia's butt collided with the side of his desk. Planting his feet, Daniel broke the urgent kissing just long enough to scoop his hand around her thighs and lift. With a small hop, she was on the cluttered surface, aligning their groins perfectly. She immediately wrapped her legs around his narrow hips and, whimpering, tugged him to bring their naked skin back together.

Daniel's mind was reeling, as her naked body writhed against his own. He could hardly believe it. How did she do it? Without even knowing the truth to his torment she had given him precisely what he needed. He needed to feel her here, alive, warm. Her bare skin beneath his questing palms. Her blessedly arousing tingles flaring into his torso. Her chest tight to his so he could feel her every pounding heartbeat, her every panted breath.

"Oh sweet, Jesus!" he mouthed near silently, as she took him inside of her. Hot and moist and so gloriously tingle-filled that he was sure the top of his head was going to fly clean off. So dizzily good every thought left his mind and he surrendered to the moment.

She clung to him, her fingers digging into the muscles in his back, his digging into her thighs. Their bodies merging with aching want.

Her lips were lovingly ghosting over his throat and shoulder, in such a tenderly gentle touch he couldn't fathom in the heat of the moment.

She let him set the tempo, knowing he knew what pleased her and he didn't disappoint. He drove forwards, in powerfully deep thrusts that squeaked the furniture and filled her completely.

Locked together in long sort longing and love, Daniel was whole bodily focus on simply feeling. Her squeezing grasp. The cooling breeze of her fast breathes over his heated shoulder. The thrumming heat of her body… and the ache that was building in his lower back and stomach. Building far too speedily and strongly to be diverted.

"Too close," he gasped, struggling to find his voice.

"Non tenere!" she quickly reassured him. "Ego adiact cum tua"

Relieved and too breathless to reply, Daniel merely nodded. Dropping his head onto her shoulder, he tightened his grip and, unable to hold back any longer, intensified his pace.

Her thighs trembled, her back arched upward into him and moments later, Daniel's cry merged with hers.

Sucking in huge lungfuls of air, Daniel quickly had let go of her, so he could grip tight hold of the edge of the desk when his knees threatened to give way.

"Well, that was…" Leesia panted, her legs slipping from around his waist, too unsteady to hold them up any longer.

"Heated?" Daniel finished and felt her nod against his chest.

The telephone rang. Sounding far too loud in its close proximity and in the near silence of the room. Daniel reached over her and awkwardly pulled the receiver to his ear.

"Hello," he answered, fighting to keep the breathlessness from sounding in his voice and giving their game away.

While listening to Sam, Daniel backed his hips up, allowing Leesia to slip out from under him.

She gathered up their strewn clothing.

"We're on our way." Daniel said seconds later, replacing the handle in it's cradle and immediately reaching for his clothes she had piled on the desk beside him. "Cameron just had an ECF attack." he explained, quickly stepping into his boxers and pulling them up. "They've had to send the others through before it happens again. They're holding the door open for you."

Looking alarmed and worried, she increased the pace of her dressing and in less then a minute they darted from the room and tore down the corridor.

They rode the elevator up to level 16 in silence. Neither one of them wanting to put voice to the thoughts they shared. Their brief time back together had come to an end far too quickly for either of their liking. There was nothing that they could say that could change that, or would ease their parting. So, they spoke only in looks. Each trying to convey their love, longing and concern for the other with their eyes only. And when the door opened they took off for the holding cell hand in hand.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Mitchell asked Leesia, the second the couple appeared through the doorway.

One glance at Dan, waiting nervously with Samantha and Cameron the other side of the mirror's surface, confirmed her resolve. She couldn't, wouldn't leave him to his fate, not while she held the power to change his future. "Yes," she told the Colonel bravely.

"Okay," he replied with a nod, stepping aside to let Sam fasten the leg harness to Leesia's belt and thigh.

She handed over the Zat. "You remember how to use it?"

Leesia nodded quickly, taking the weapon with trembling hands and cautiously slipping it into the holster.

"Samantha already has the 'gate addresses and they've all been briefed. So if you forget anything just ask," Sam told her.

Armed and ready to go, Leesia turned back to her husband.

He quickly fixed a smile to his face. "Don't be a stranger, okay?" he said, aiming for his most teasing tone, and falling slightly short of target.

That worrying look was back on her face, as she studied him. "Will you be all right?"

"You don't have to worry about me," he told her, trying to hide the apprehension that was twisting his gut.

His speech as a little too quick, his smile a little too forced for her to fully believe him, but she was out of time, rendering her options null and void. So she embraced him, whispered "I love you," and pressed a parting kiss to his lips.

Reluctantly she broke away and taking a steadying breath approached the portal.

Jack spoke up. "In the words of a very wise man: God speed."

"And good luck," Mitchell added.

She nodded her thanks and, swallowing hard, reached up and touched the mirrors cool surface.

The beam washed over her and seemingly in the same instant she appeared on the other side.

With a grateful smile and a solute to her counterpart and the others, Samantha reach over Leesia shoulder to shut down the device.

Leesia's concerned eyes were glued to Daniel's as the mirrors surface flashed to blank.

….

Please review. Thanks in advance. Hope you enjoyed.


	9. Chapter 9 Alliances

**Chapter 9 ~ Alliances.**

With his arms wrapped tightly around his waist and his brow low, Daniel threw a scowl at the spot his reflection should have been, seeing only blackness reflected back. Silently, he cursed the mirror for its inactivity. Of course, it wasn't a regular type of mirror. And it wasn't the mirrors fault that Leesia still wasn't back.

Despite the fact that he had given clear instructions to the guards that he was to be contacted the moment of her return, he couldn't help repeatedly checking the mirror for himself at very regular intervals. Each time with growing frustration and anxious tension.

Giving a soft sigh of disappointment, Daniel turned and padded away, heading back to his office and the half-finished mission report that awaited him.

It had been nearly two weeks.

Two long weeks.

Two long, lonely weeks.

Two weeks of throwing himself into his work to occupy his uneasy mind and working to the point of exhaustion to avoid the nightmare that he knew would plague him otherwise.

Two weeks without her! And after watching her die in his arms, two weeks was a damn long time. Hell, two days, two hour, two minutes would be too long for him at the moment.

She was constantly on his mind. Not even having the SGC overrun with Ishta's female Jaffa army (complete with horses), had fully distracted him. And, though he would never admit it, he was not entirely looking forward to Rya'c and Kar'yn's wedding. Watching the joyous union of two people so clearly in love would only serve as a reminder that his soulmate was not currently by his side. Knowing it was likely to leave him longing for his wife, even more than he already was, he was fast dreading the day.

Teal'c, in his disapproving bad temper, had taken to locking himself away, alone in his quarters. Firmly telling anyone who dared to try to coax him out, that he desired solitude. Which effectively removed Daniel's option of meditating with his favourite partner to ease his stress. Sam had her hands full with finding Ishta a new base planet. Mitchell had taken the chance to visit his family and Daniel held little hope of Jack having any time for his friend at the present.

However, when he reached his lab, he found he was surprisingly mistaken. Jack stood in the rear of Daniel's office, absently tossing an Aybdonian fertility stature back and forth between his hands.

"Hey," Daniel greeted, warily plucking the ten-thousand year old relic from Jack's hand before he could break it and carefully replacing it back in its spot on his shelve, "What's up?"

"Was wondering if you wanna get out of here, Get a drink or something?" Jack replied casually.

"Oh, um," Daniel mumbled, quickly scanning his desk for something he could use as an excuse. It wasn't that he didn't want to go with his friend. He did, really. Jack's relaxed attitude always had a calming effect on the archaeologist. He just knew that he currently needed a bigger distraction than alcohol and small talk could ever provide. "You know I'm not much of a drinker."

"Well, I could sure use one and you know what they say about drinking alone."

"I should really get this done," Daniel continued, waving in the general direction of his desk and knowing Jack wouldn't question what he was referring to.

Jack waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "It'll still be here in the morning."

"I'll never get it done with that attitude."

Jack shot him a pointed look. "It's ten o'clock at night, Daniel."

Daniel quickly checked his wristwatch and was surprised when he found Jack to be correct. "Oh."

"Everyone needs to take a break. Even you. Besides, you're making everyone else look bad."

Daniel smiled hesitantly, looking unsure.

"Look, if it makes you feel better you could always bring it with you." Jack offered. Then seeing Daniel's resolve waver, quickly continued before the man had a chance to turn him down again. "Meet you topside in fifteen." he said confidently and, not waiting for his friends response, strode from the lab.

…

Twenty-five minutes later, Jack was leaning against the driver's door of his truck, patiently waiting for Daniel to grace him with his presence. He had expected the easily distracted scientist to keep him waiting and would give him another couple of minutes before calling down to hurry him along.

Jack's concern for his best friend had grown in certainty during the last two weeks, and had peeked when Daniel had turned in his previous mission report. While Sam's and Mitchell's had been detailed, giving clear informative of their time in the other reality, Daniel's had not. His usual compassionate and highly opinionated style of writing, which more often than not went on for pages, had been replaced with a brief and clinical bullet point report. It read as if written by someone witnessing the events, not someone who had experienced them for themselves.

To Jack it looked like a classic sign of detachment. Daniel was not dealing. After what Sam had told him about Daniel's emotional state when they had found him in the police station, Jack wasn't surprised. However, he wasn't about to let his best friend suffer in silence. No, Daniel needed to share and if he wasn't willing then Jack was sure getting a few beers in him would loosen the archaeologist's tongue. Fortunately, Daniel's low tolerance for alcohol meant he wouldn't need many.

Just as Jack was about to place the call, the man himself made an appearance. Loaded down with an over filled and heavy looking shoulder bag and an arm full of books, Daniel wondered over and climbed into the passenger side of Jack's truck.

"Looks like I'm driving then," Jack smiled and followed suit.

…

"Tis a Paradox. That's what it is." Daniel slurred three beers later. "An enigma, a God damn conundrum."

His fourth beer sat opened yet ignored on the Jack's coffee table in front of him. No longer needed and frankly it had become a hazard in his animated hands. The damp patches that freckled Jack's couch and Daniel clothing were proof of that.

From his visual post on the armchair opposite, Jack took a swig direct from his own bottle. "How's that?"

Daniel let out a humourless chuckle, as if the answer should be obvious. "I'm mourning her, while waiting for her to come back. It was her, but it wasn't her. Which is completely contradictory and impossible. You know? I mean, one person can't be two people. She was identical right down to the tingles. How was I meant to know? …She did, you know? She knew straight away. She didn't just jump me and stick her tongue down my throat - his throat. Whatever."

Daniel had been heatedly rambling for the better part of the last half an hour. Once the alcohol had started to take effect, it proved only too easy for Jack to coax Daniel's thoughts out of the tipsy man. In fact, once he had started Jack was sure it would be far trickier to shut the man up. Something he was not even going to try. Daniel needed to vent, that much was clear and Jack was only too happy to be the one to listen.

"It was meant to be a time machine. It said it was. How was I to know that editing the timeline meant that it created an alternate reality? I wanted to get my son back. I knew it was a risk. A big one. It wasn't the right thing to do, but I couldn't not try. I just couldn't, you know?"

Jack nodded in sympathetic understanding. Even with hindsight, he knew he'd take the chance if there were even the tiniest possibility of getting Charlie back. Any parent on the planet (or any other) in Daniel's position would have done the same thing had the opportunity arisen. Things may not have panned out the way Daniel had planned, but no one could blame the man for trying.

Jack tuned back in when he realised Daniel was still talking.

"-Assuming she even can. If she develops a Florence Nightingale syndrome, she may not even be willing to. She did with me and he is me after all. I don't think I could cope if that happened." Daniel shook his head sadly, with a mournful sigh, before immediately continuing with his depressive chatter.

While a lot of what he was saying was eluding Jack, he was certainly getting the gist of the big picture. God, Daniel had so many contradictory feeling and thoughts about what had happened Jack was surprised the younger man had managed to keep a lid on it up until now. He was feeling guilty, that was painfully obvious, as well as in mourning and mixed in with everything else was a healthy size amount of paranoid fear.

"And don't even get me started on Daniel - Dan. I mean who does that guy think I am? Okay, I go over and make a messed up life far worse, but he had given up, Jack. He gave up on Sarah. He gave up on himself. Yes, I kissed her but she wasn't MY nurse. That doesn't mean he can take off with my wife and go off to do God knows what, does it?"

Jack added anger and jealousy to the growing list.

"I couldn't tell the difference, but he knows the score. I've never really been the vengeful type, but maybe after years in a mental home a little tit for tat would feel justified."

"Daniel, Daniel, Daniel," Jack interrupted, quickly moving across the room and joining his friend on the couch. Honestly trying to keep up with him was starting to give Jack a headache. He gave his friend's shoulder a comforting squeeze to draw his attention. "You're over thinking this. Leesia loves you and Dan is a good person, same as you. But if you can't trust him, you should at least trust her. Nothing is going to happen between them, I guarantee it and she'll be back before you know it."

Daniel shook his head, sadly. "The kiss, I told her about it. Told her I should've known, but I didn't. I _should _have seen it. She was more Earth-like, Jack. But in the end, she was still Leesia through and through… She died trying to help me." His bottom lip started to tremble. His breathing quickly turning more and more ragged by the second. "If it wasn't her then I'm guilty of infidelity, if it was then I'm guilty of getting my wife killed. Whichever way I view it doesn't make it any better, or what I did any less wrong and either way a good woman died because of me."

"Hey," Jack said softly. "It wasn't you fault."

Daniel snorted wetly. "It _was _my fault, Jack. I got her into that situation, I found that machine, I took the gun. I-I-I-" With a wavering inhale, Daniel gasped out, "I thought it was her. I thought it was Leesia and - and oh God, Jack, I felt her life leave… I held her in my arms and I…I felt it disappear."

Before Daniel even realised it, he found himself wrapped up in his friend, with his face buried in the crock of Jack's neck. A comforting hand was gently patting the back of his head, the other rubbing up and down his back in a soothing manner. For a split second he hesitated, unsure, then he melted gratefully into the tight embrace and let the long pent up tears fall.

"That's it, Buddy. Let it out," Jack soothed, rocking him.

He had known that Daniel had been witness to the other Leesia's death first hand. It had been detailed in both Sam and Mitchell's mission reports, and touched on briefly in Daniel's own. But what hadn't been made clear by any of them, was that Daniel had still been under that belief that it was his Leesia at the time. The unbearable agony that came with holding yourself accountable for the loss of a loved one, Jack knew only too well. And so he paid no mind to the tears and various other fluids that were currently soaking the shoulder of his t-shirt through to the skin, he just held his friend closer and rocked the hysterically sobbing man.

…

Being careful not to wake the slumbering man, Jack pulled a thick woollen blanket over Daniel's shoulder and gently removed the askew glasses off his friend's lax face. He folded them and placed them on the coffee table, next to the glass of water and aspirin he had readied for Daniel's inevitable upcoming hangover.

Shortly after Daniel's sobbing had abated and with a half garbled apology, the archaeologist had succumb to the combination of drink and emotional exhaustion and passed out on Jack's shoulder.

Feeling oddly proud of himself, Jack had gently wiggled out and rearranged the dead weight archaeologist on the couch. He would feel better if Daniel slept in the bed in the spare room (his couch wasn't exactly adequate to accommodate someone 6 foot tall), but there was no way he was going to wake the man now.

Getting Daniel to bear his soul was no easy feet and he smiled knowing that he had succeeded in doing just that and that his friend had lifted some of the weight off his overburdened shoulders. Of course, the bulk of Daniel's trouble wouldn't be eased until Leesia's return, but Jack felt better knowing that he had helped how he could.

Still smiling to himself, Jack left his loudly snoring friend and, snagging the phone on route, headed off to his bedroom.

Pushing the door to behind him, Jack jabbed at speed dial one and pressed the phone to his ear. After only a couple of rings the line connected to a weary "Hello?"

"Did I wake ya?" he asked softly, keeping his voice hushed so not to disturb Daniel.

"No, not at all," Sam replied drowsily. A yawn betrayed her statement. "How is he?" she asked worriedly.

"Sleeping the sleep of the intoxicated and snoring the house down. Poor guy was a mess, but I think this evening helped."

"You actually got him to open up?" she said, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice.

"Once he got going it was getting him to shut up that was the problem…Why, did you doubt me?"

"It's Daniel," Sam replied offhandedly, as if that was explanation enough for her tone of surprise at Jack's success. "Wish I could say the same thing about Teal'c. Of course, I didn't have alcohol to help me."

"No joy, huh?"

"None, sorry. Tag you're it,"

"Fine," Jack grumbled jokily. One down, one to go was still a step forward. He knew that getting the taciturn Jaffa to reveal the workings of his inner mind would most likely prove even more of a challenge then Daniel had been, who was only silenced by his more personal issues. "But no more ping pong."

"Still bruised?"

"I scored one." Jack justified.

"Was he at the table at the time?"

Damn, this woman was either spying on him or knew him too well. "…Not the point."

Sam chuckled. "'Night Jack. Love you."

"Love you too. See you in the morning, oh seven hundred."

"Can't wait."

….

Daniel awoke the next morning, way too early for his liking, with a stiff neck, a sandpaper-dry mouth, a protesting stomach and a headache. However, the scent of freshly brewed coffee seduced him from his place of rest.

With a soft groan, he eased himself upright and, following his nose like a bloodhound, wondered into Jack's kitchen. He grunted a "Morning" to his friend, who leant against the counter perusing the paper, and immediately helped himself to a large mug full of the desired beverage.

"Morning," Jack replied, sounding too alert that was natural for the time in the morning.

"Sorry about um," Daniel murmured, waving his arm in the general direction of the living room.

"S'ok." Jack shrugged. "It's all good."

Hiding most of his face inside his mug, Daniel peeked over the rim at his friend. "Thanks."

Meeting Daniel's embarrassed yet grateful eyes, Jack nodded his understanding. Then, not wanting to make Daniel any more uncomfortable then he clearly already was, quickly changed the subject. "You want some breakfast before we head in?"

"Sure," Daniel shrugged. Then, taking in the dim view out of the kitchen window added, "It's a little early to be heading in isn't it?"

"We have a meeting at oh seven hundred."

"We do?" Daniel questioned. SG-1 didn't have a mission scheduled for another two weeks. "First I've heard about it."

"Well, maybe that's because you've been holed up in your office for the best part of a fortnight. Not that I blame you," Jack quickly continued, when he saw Daniel was about to interrupt. "Would have done the same thing if I could, if only to avoid the horses. Right, breakfast we have…" he pulled open the fridge door and took a look at the contents.

"Chinese leftovers, beer or ketchup?" Daniel summed up looking over Jack's shoulder.

"Yep, all the major food groups. You telling me you got something against ketchup?"

Daniel snorted a chuckle. "We'll grab something on the way in. It's on me."

…

Loop, loop, up tuck, thread through and pull. Daniel wiggled the knot of his tie into place and folded his collar down. He then slipped on his jacket to complete the ensemble.

The day of the wedding was here. With all the stress and worry over Ishta's capture and Teal'c's rescue it had been a long few days and the 'Gateroom ceremony would be a perfect way to end the week on a high.

Daniel just wished Leesia could be here to see it in person. Unfortunately, she would have to settle for being told all about it if she comes back.

When! When, she comes back, he told himself firmly, brushing some nonexistent dust from his shoulder.

After his emotional evening with Jack, Daniel had decided to try and take a more positive attitude regarding his wife's absence. And the meeting the following morning had set that decision in stone. If the others were so confident about her return that they were arranging meetings regarding her future involvement within the SGC then who was he to doubt her homecoming.

She had gone because she was a good person trying to do a good thing. Dan didn't deserve to be locked away. Lisa had died trying to free him. It had been her final wish and Daniel found it quite poetic that her alternate self was making sure that wish came true.

Though the kiss still troubled him, he was trying to forgive himself for it. After all, in his heart, he had believed it was his wife that he was kissing. So it wasn't a deliberate infidelity and he wholeheartedly believe Leesia herself would not hold it against him.

The haunting memory of witnessing Leesia's (No Lisa's, he forcibly reminded himself) death still persistently plagued his thoughts and dreams. But he had expected it would take more than a positive attitude to rid himself of those nightmares.

"Daniel."

So caught up in his own contemplations, Daniel hadn't noticed the object of his thoughts steal up behind him and jumped at the sound of his name. He jerked round to face her, eyes wide in delight.

"Lees," he gasped out gratefully, practically throwing himself at her and pulling her into his appreciative arms. He needed to touch her, feel for himself that this wasn't some cruel dream. As he pulled her into a tight embrace, he felt himself relax. She was home, she was safe. She was alive and in his arms. He rubbed his hands across her back, smelt her hair and then gratefully kissed her cheek.

"Daniel?" she asked sounding quite startled and more than a little confused, "Are you alright?"

Daniel felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment as he realised the extremity of his actions. Clearly, the positive thinking memo hadn't reached his subconscious.

He was acting far too needy and that wasn't like him. Sure, it had been nearly three weeks apart, but not matter how much he had missed her, the time was not a good enough excuse for his extreme reactions.

"I'm fine…now." he told her, breathing steadily through his nose, in attempt to get hold of himself and calm his racing heart. He coughed, cleared his throat and pulled back; taking both her hands in his and tried to offer his most convincing smile. "How'd it go?"

She eyed him carefully, not convinced he was actually 'fine' as he had stated. Of course he would be pleased to see her, she was expecting that. She had missed him too and he was a very grateful sight for her longing eyes. But she hadn't expected this level of…what she could only think looked like relief in his unsettled baby blues. He had to have known she would be coming back…didn't he?

When her concerned and questioning gaze upon him didn't falter, Daniel repeated, "I'm fine. Really. How did it go?"

"Oh, um, very well, actually." she stammered to answer his question, while her mind was more focused on what could explain her husband obvious distress. "The other Sam and Cameron have formed the new SG-1. And are currently in the process of contacting many of our allies and forming alliances."

"And Daniel?" he asked, trying to keep the envious tone to his voice masked, and mostly failing to do so.

"After everything he went through he was not willing to join. So I took him where I knew he would be safe and loved."

"So he's…?" Daniel broke off, his eyes widening as he realised the significance of what she was saying.

"He is with Sha're." she confirmed with a smile, finding his stunned expression completely endearing. "I stayed long enough to witness their marriage."

Daniel could stop the bright smile that lit his face. He had walked a mile in his counterpart's shoes. The man had suffered so badly needlessly. The wonders of Abydos and the love of Sha're would go a long way to healing those wounds. And it was heartening to know that in at least one reality Sha're and himself had found their happy ever after.

"Speaking of weddings, you're just in time for Rya'c's."

"I was going to ask about the attire," she said nodding at the suit he had donned for the occasion.

Hand in loving hand, they wondered together down to the 'Gateroom.

…

The following morning and the halls of the SGC were quiet and horse-free. Side by side in the tranquil calm of Daniel's lab, bathed in the gently light from his reading lamp, Leesia and Daniel worked with their fingers entwined. Had it not been for the fact that Leesia was reading at glancing pace and Daniel seemed to be reading five books simultaneously while taking note, the pair could easy be an old married couple simply enjoying their novels in a comfortable silence.

It was this scene that greeted them, as Jack, Sam, Teal'c and Cam strode purposefully into the lab.

Dropping his pencil and using the excuse of rubbing his eyes to mask his grin, Daniel asked, "Hey guys, what's up?" trying to sound innocently naive to their ploy.

"We want you to reconsider joining SG-1." Mitchell told Leesia, getting straight to the point.

She stared up at the four of them, not unaware that her husband's eyes seemed just as keen for her answer as the rest of them did. "SG-1 already has four members," she pointed out.

"There's nothing in the rule book that says an SG team has to be comprised of four people." Sam said.

"And ten hands are better than eight." Jack added.

"I do not possess the bravery required."

"That is untrue, Leesia Jackson," Teal'c argued. "You willingly travelled to the other reality solo to save the others, putting yourself in great danger."

"To be with Daniel," she pointed out.

"And you didn't have to go with the others to rectify their reality either." Mitchell joined in Teal'c's argument.

"In the last ten missions you've been with us more often than not." Sam added.

Leesia quickly did the math in her head…Sam was right. "That does not mean that I should join. Those missions each had extenuating circumstances."

"In case you haven't noticed, Sparky," Jack said. "This is the home of extenuating circumstances."

"Where you in on this?" Leesia asked turning her accusing gaze in her husband direction.

Daniel merely smiled, then seeing her fearfully doubting expression sighed in disappointment. "Guys, if she doesn't want to we can't force her."

"She does want to," Jack insisted. "She's just scared about screwing up." He turned to face the nervous looking woman and said softly, "Leesia, everyone here has screwed up at one time or another. Like this one time Daniel nearly got us all killed trying to rescue an Unas."

Daniel nodded, the smile on his face clearly stating 'guilty as charged'.

Jack continued. "Another time we were all imprisoned when he wanted to help some bozo and he ended up bringing the 'destroyer of worlds' back here. Then there was the alien device he brought back that nearly took over the base with some freaky sixties glow in the dark bacteria. The base got over run by replicators when he wanted to bring this robot chick back. I can't begin to tell you the amount of times I've specifically told him not to touch something and then two seconds later he's turned it on with nothing more than an 'oops' or a 'sorry'."

Daniel's smile had disappeared from his face, replaced with a frown. "Didn't this speech begin with '_everyone _here has screwed up'?"

Jack shrugged. "There's just more examples with you."

"Is not." Daniel argued, his arms folding across his chest.

"Is too."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"There is not!"

"Oh there _so_ is too."

"Sam wanted to bring Reese back just as much as I did." Daniel pointed out, flapping his arm in her direction.

Sam held her hands up in mock surrender. "Whoa, don't bring me into this." she said, backing up a step.

"And I think you'll find it was Mitchell that caused our latest predicament." Daniel continued.

"Just leading by example." Cam replied casually.

Realising he was outmanned and not going to win the argument, Daniel rolled his eyes. "The point I think Jack's trying to make is, that we've all made mistakes, but each time we were trying to do the right thing and more often then not something good came out of it."

Leesia looked at each of them, one at a time. "Do you all feel this way?"

Five heads nodded almost in sync.

"Well then," Leesia smiled, "How can I say no? Count me in."


	10. Chapter 10 With The Honey

**Chapter 10 ~ With the Honey …**

Daniel was slammed heavily to the floor. Landing forcefully on the backs of his shoulders, he instantly he brought both feet down to try and take some of the impact off his lower back. But the collision still cause all the air to be expelled from his lungs in one loud sudden 'Ooff'.

The tight grip on his wrist, holding his arm out at an unnatural angle, immediately released as Leesia dropped down beside him and placed a gentle hand on his chest.

"Daniel, I am so sorry. Are you hurt?"

He met her eyes wide with concerned gaze and couldn't help the pride filled smile that tugged his lips. After all flipping someone nearly twice your body weight over your shoulder onto their back was quite an accomplishment (even if that said someone had been holding back).

"My self-esteem has just gone critical," he quipped, as he eased himself upright with a light groan.

"I'm okay," he reassured her with a strained voice, seriously wondering why he had been so adamant that she use him to demonstrate what she had learnt in manner of self-defence. Why hadn't he just taken her word for it when she had told him she was more than sufficient? '_Because when it comes to her safety, I have to be sure.' _his sub-conscious stubbornly answered. '_Especially after…'_ He shook the thought from his mind. Now was not the time to dwell on the past. They had all this time together, alone, and he didn't want to waste a second of it.

"Are you sure?

He nodded and with a chuckle added, "I think it's safe to assume that you've more than mastered the basics."

"Teal'c is an excellent teacher." She blushed, modestly side-stepping his subtle compliment. "However this is not what I pictured us doing on our Honeymoon."

Daniel rolled his eyes at her. "I don't know," he pondered cheerfully, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Rolling around on the floor together, getting all sweaty seems about on par with what I imagined."

The cheeky delight in his smiled triggered one of her own and she bent to kiss his waiting, wonton lips. "Later," she told him, making her word promise, as she tapped the tip of his nose. "We have unpacking to do."

Untangling herself, Leesia rose up, and snagging the brown paper bags they had deposited before their 'workout', headed towards the kitchen. "Cases." She called over her shoulder.

Daniel threw a sloppy salute towards her disappearing back. "Yes, ma'am." he replied tartly. He heard her giggle as he readjusted himself and got to his feet. Snatching their luggage from beside the front door, he made his way to the master bedroom.

In the few short weeks since Leesia had accepted the position as a member of SG-1, and due to her fierce desire to not be the weak link in the chain and let the team down, the former Ancient had thrown herself into the task of readying herself as much as humanly possible. She had started with reading over each report for every mission that every team had ever been on. When that input only took her a couple of hours she turned her attention to each and every training the SGC offered: Combat training, hand to hand, self-defence, weapons handling, tactical analysis, and knowing that her unique technopathy would be the most useful advantage she could provide the team she had also thoroughly studied up on all of the alien technologies the SGC had access to.

Daniel had kept a close eye on her throughout. Telling himself that he was making sure she didn't over do it, but he knew deep down that was a lie. He just couldn't be parted from her for too long at the present.

With only four days left until her first mission as a full member of SG-1, Daniel had decided that she needed a break (There was no telling when their next opportunity would be) and, taking Jack up on his offer to use his cabin, whisked her away for an impromptu long weekend away.

It had been Leesia who had insisted that, as it was their first holiday since their wedding, they call it a honeymoon. Not wanting to deny her anything, Daniel had agreed. But, not before he had made the point that the term 'Honeymoon' actually referred to the moonth, or month, following a wedding when the marriage was at it sweetest. As far as he was concerned the honeymoon holiday was still to come. He was thinking of possibly a cruise. A perfect way to introduce her to many of the different cultures and wonders Earth held, while still being heaped in tranquillity and plenty of time for just the two of them. Unfortunately, that would require a lot more free time than either of them could possibly spare at the present, so for now Jack's lakeside log cabin would be more than adequate.

Daniel swung both cases onto the bed, with a light bounce and unzipped the first one. He pulled out their toiletry bags and put them aside, he would take them to the bathroom when he was done. He pulled out his suit bag and hung it inside the closet, remembering as he did that he needed to look up a nice restaurant locally. Jack had recommended one, but Daniel didn't think 'The Sizzlin' Shack' was quite what he was looking for in terms of romantic dinning.

Returning to the suitcases, Daniel pulled out the sheets and bed linen that Leesia had packed and dropped them on the foot of the bed. What he found beneath caused his eyes to nearly bug out of their sockets. Seemingly on autopilot Daniel dipped his hand in to feel the silk and lacy undergarments that was all Leesia seemed to have packed it terms of clothing.

"Find anything you like?"

Daniel snapped his hand up, as if burned and spun to face Leesia, who stood relaxed beside him wearing a seductive and mischievous grin.

Swallowing thickly, his wide eyes pulled into a taken-aback frown. "Uh," he blinked at her and frowned, licking his drying lips.

Her grin fell. "You do not like them."

"No, no, no, it's not that," he quickly reassured her. "It's just I was planning on taking you out to dinner and I'm sure you'd be a bit chilly wearing this." He pulled out a little black number that left little to the imagination. Chilly wasn't the word, she'd get frostbite, hell she'd get arrested wearing that. "Plus, I doubt you'd be able to fight off the admirers if you went out wearing one of these. No matter how efficient your self defence skills have become."

"Oh I think they would be more than adequate," she replied casually, as she sauntered up alongside him and started assisting the unpacking.

"Really?" he questioned teasingly. Smiling, as an idea cropped into his mind, he backed up a couple of steps.

"Yes. And they are certainly more Honeymoon appropriate than what you have packed." she said with bemused annoyance as she pulled two stone tablets out and gave him a questioning look over her shoulder.

"Just a little light reading," he replied with a boyish grin, taking another step back.

"Light?" she questioned, testing their weight. "That is debatable."

As soon as she replaced them, he ran for her, intending to tackle her onto the bed. But, as he wrapped his arm around her slender waist he suddenly found himself flat on his back with his ass on the pillows and his legs crumpled up around the headboard.

Leesia smiling face appeared upside down in his field of vision. "Satisfied?" she asked with a smug and happy smile.

"Oh now you're gonna get it!" he said through a warning grin, speedily swinging his legs off the bed.

Leesia darted from the room, with her husband in hot pursuit, following her delighted squeals.

She knew she couldn't out run him (not that she wanted to), so once she reached the living room she spun to face him and brought her hands up in a playfully defensive gesture, her face alive with a delighted laugh. He caught hold of her and the pair tumbled down onto the thick carpet. Rolling over each other in a mass of limbs, Daniel managed to straddle Leesia's thighs and caught hold of her wrists, pinning them to the floor either side of her head.

"Get out of that!" he grinned down at her, panting.

The look she fixed him with speared through him like a jolt of lightening, hot and heavily with love, "What if I do not wish to?"

Daniel's smile grew wider. "Then I guess dinner is going to have to wait," he said, leaning over and capturing her grinning mouth with his own.

She pushed up longingly into his kiss and he eagerly released her wrists so he could cradle her head, holding her close.

The shrill ring of the telephone broke into their play.

Daniel groaned loudly in frustrated disappointment, as the breathless pair parted and threw matching glares at the persistently chirping phone.

"Allow me." Leesia smiled wickedly and a fraction of a second later the ringing ceased.

Daniel snorted out a happy chuckle and shaking his head lightly lowered back to her. "I really don't know how I coped before you came along."

…

Sam frowned at the suddenly silent receiver and shrugging replaced it in its cradle.

"Watchya doin'?"

Smiling to herself, pleased to hear his voice, Sam turned to see Jack casually leant against the wall just inside the doorway to her office. His arms were folded across his chest, eyes playful with a happy grin. She loved that carefree smile and it was impossible not to return it with one of her own.

"I was trying to get hold of Leesia, but there seems to be a problem with the line." She told him, then seeing his smile dropped quickly asked, "What about you?"

"It's lunchtime, Carter. I'm going for lunch." he told her, pushing off the wall, his relaxed manner faded. "Something wrong?"

"No, just wanted to check in, make sure they got there safe."

"And?" Jack questioned, knowing there was more to it than that.

Sam sighed looking embarrassed. "…And check over which technologies she had chance to master." she admitted shyly.

Jack sauntered over to her desk. "They're on their honeymoon, Carter. Now I know taking any form of time off is unfathomable in that workaholic mind of yours, but usually checking in with work is not high on the priorities list."

"I guess," Sam mused. "Did you see Daniel's face before they left. He looked practically giddy."

"Yeah, what's up with that? I didn't think Daniel got excited over anything that wasn't, you know, rock related."

Before she could stop herself, Sam blurted out, "They're probably at it like rabbits."

Jack's face fell. "Ah, I'm just about to eat!" he groaned out in distaste. "I so did _not_ need that mental picture. My Grandfather built that cabin, I'll have you know. With his bare hands." he said holding out his own to accentuate his point.

Sam grinned cheekily. Jack huffed and needing a distraction, he pulled a pot of paperclips towards him and started linking them together. "Anyway, Daniel's taking his own sheets," he muttered, "Let them do their worse."

Sam couldn't help but tease him further. "Well that's good for the bed, but what about the shower, the kitchen counter, the dinning table, the couch, the-"

"Enough already! Yeesh."

Sam tucked her lips between her teeth to hold in the grin. There was something incredibly adorable about Jack when he was irritated and she almost couldn't help herself.

"Lunch?" he offered, tilting his head towards the open doorway. "It's on me."

As they wondered together out of Sam's lab, Jack mused, "Might be simpler to burn the place down."

"Insured?"

"Yeah."

"Might scare the fish."

"Ah, well, yes…about those fish…"

…

'_A couple more hours.' _Daniel told himself forcefully, with a silent frustrated sign. He could make it that long… He hoped. After all four o'clock in the morning was not a reasonable time to wake her. Especially given their late night 'activities' the previous evening.

He snuggled back down beneath the comforter and spooned himself around her. Closing his eyes, he desperately tried to ignore his arousal, blank his over active mind and slip back into the welcoming embrace of sleep. Already knowing that it would prove to be a fruitless attempt.

During the day Daniel could managed to keep somewhat control of his insistent need to keep a reassuring touch upon his wife, but during the night, when nightmares were frequently in charge, he couldn't help himself. He had held her close to his chest all night, with his arm around her and his hand nestled snugly between her breasts. Being able to feel her warmth, her every breath and heartbeat against his palm had kept him grounded. However, their arousing tingles had been as taxing on his self control as ever. He knew he could only take so much before his more primal needs out weighed his more rational side. But if he could just hold on.

'_Just two more hours…an hour at least…' _

He nussled his face into her cascading brown locks and breathed in the scent of her hair. Orange blossom. Intoxicating. It wasn't helping him ease into sleep, but there was no way he was turning away from her. Away from her meant not feeling her heat…her life.

'_At least another hour…Just one more. I can do that…Ah, to hell with it!' _

"Lees," he breathed his hot breath across her neck, pushing himself closer still. Gently, he swept her hair back behind her shoulder, revelling more of her creamy skin so his unruly lips could kiss a path up her throat to that sure-fire spot behind her ear. "Wake up. I need you."

Leesia smiled knowingly into her pillow. Both declarations were inane. The hardness, that was digging insistently into the small of her back, had managed to rouse her and convey his message perfectly well, before Daniel had spoken.

"I can feel that," she said mischievously, swaying her hips to rub her bottom against him.

His lips were forced to halt their pleasurable journey so a moan could escape him, as his eyes rolled closed.

Leesia stole a brief glance at the bedside alarm clock, before pirouetting to face her aroused husband. He quickly took hold of her hips and pulled her close, grinding their bodies together.

"We made love less than three hours ago." she said, raising her chin, exposing her throat for his seeking lips to claim. He took full advantage. "This is becoming habit."

Grazing his mouth over her neck, following her pulse, Daniel briefly debated playing the Honeymoon card. But quickly realised no excuse would fool her.

"I'm sorry I've been so…" With his head still buried into her neck he paused to think of the right word. 'Lustful' didn't quite seem accurate (although he wouldn't have denied it) considering the reasons behind his wanton behaviour.

"Clingy?" she offered through a hitched breath as he sucked on that sweet sensitive spot behind her ear.

He chuckled humourlessly through his nose at it tickled up her jaw. "Pretty much."

"Do not misunderstand me, I am not complaining about your increased desires, but I am getting concerned as to the reasoning behind them."

He really didn't want to get into this. Not now. Not while the tingles still coursing through his veins had only grown more demanding as she responded to his caresses. "Stop talking," he said softly, locking his lips onto her, preventing any possible argument. Although judging by her groan against his mouth and the way her body flexed to his he strongly doubted she objected.

He pushed against her, rolling her onto her back and followed, pressing her into the firm mattress.

Responding naturally to her husbands questing tongue, Leesia parted her lips and welcomed him deepening their kiss with a soft sigh.

There was something wrong, something that was troubling him, deeply, she could tell. Daniel was never usually this tactile. Openly affectionate - yes, but needy, clingy - never! He was much more likely to wrap his arms around himself rather than seek a comforting touch from another person, including his own wife. Yet in the last few weeks that had changed, remarkably so.

He had followed her around the base like a little lost puppy during all of her training, always seeking some form of contact whenever it was possible. While they ate in the mess hall he had wrapped his feet around hers under the table. When she had been studying in his office, his hand would be constantly, absently running up and down her spine while he worked. Even during the long drive to Jack's cabin he had held her hand or stroked her thigh the entire journey.

Whether he was aware of his actions or not, she couldn't be sure, however she could be sure that her husband had something troubling him. The question was: what? And how long would he suffer in silence?

She made a mental note to solve the dilemma…later. Right now she had a lustful husband to satisfy.

…

Closing his office door softly behind him, Jack wondered into the briefing room and taking his seat, swivelled around to face three fifths of a not-quite-awake-yet SG-1.

"Two hours ago at approximately oh two hundred hours, SG-4 came in hot," he told them, getting straight down to business. "They were making a routine drop of tretonin on the rebel Jaffa camp on 161, when the base was attacked by a Kull warrior."

"A Kull?!" Mitchell exclaimed, all trace of weariness instantly vanishing.

Jack nodded. "It destroyed the base, killed anyone that got in its way and the Jaffa were forced to flee…SG-4 barely made it out of there alive. According to the Jaffa, this is the eighth attack in the last week."

"Didn't they have a limited life span?" Mitchell asked. "Shouldn't they have all died out by now?"

"Should have," Jack agreed, "but evidently they haven't."

"I don't see how this is possible. When we went to Tartarus we made sure the Queen and the technology being used was destroyed." Sam said. "And even if the technology could be repaired, the Queen is dead and without the infant symbiotes creating the Kulls would be impossible."

"What about another one?" Mitchell questioned. "Could they have found a replacement?"

"That would be highly unlikely," Teal'c told the Colonel. "Goa'uld Queens are extremely rare."

"Besides," Sam continued, "Anubis is dead. Who could be making them?"

"There's only one way to find out." Jack said.

"I take it we're going back to Tartarus?" Mitchell asked.

Jack nodded. "I can't keep sending good people out there defenceless and there's just not enough Nullifers to go around, but I'd like to be able to do this without interrupting Daniel and Leesia's Honeymoon, if at all possible."

"Would Daniel and Leesia Jackson not wish to be informed?" Teal'c said.

"I'm sure they would, but that would lead to them rushing back here and they've been through more than any couple deserve. They've earned this time."

Sam bit her bottom lip worriedly and reluctantly said, "Jack, the only safe way to that planet is the auto-pilot on Anubis's ship."

"Yeah?" Jack said, wondering what his girlfriend was driving at.

"And the only one who was able to get the ship working was Leesia." Sam continued hesitantly.

Collapsing back in his chair, Jack scrubbed his hands over his face harshly. "I knew you were going to say that." he said though a sigh.

…

Palms flattened on the view port, Leesia gazed silently out at the blue hue of hyperspace as it whisked by.

With the support and encouragement of the team, she had managed to get the ship re-started. It had taken a lot out of her and she was weary, but she would have time to regain her strength in the few days it would take for the homing beacon to take them to the planet.

If she could bring herself to rest that it.

Despite the fact that this mission had interrupted her and Daniel's honeymoon, had she been anywhere else she knew she would have been giddily excited about her first mission as a full member of SG-1, but she couldn't muster anywhere near those emotions here. She hadn't even been able to bring herself to look at the private quarters that Daniel and herself had been given for their journey. The other's way of trying to make up for them missing their honeymoon, she was sure. And yet despite the sweetness of the gesture, she just knew she wouldn't be able to enjoy herself.

Not here. Not on _this_ ship.

This ship where had she been witness to Daniel's death and ascension up on the bridge and deep in the bowels, in the storage cells, she had had her infant son (the only baby she would ever have) torn from her.

A strong tremble rippled icily down her spine at the memories and she forced herself to remember that Daniel had come back. Her rock. Her love. Her support and comfort. The only man that had ever and would ever hold permanent residence within her heart. He had never given up the hope, however small that hope may be, that one day their son would be back with them also. Her sweet, stubborn husband. He would never give up.

As if on cue she felt a pair of strong arms encircle her waist from behind and she leaned back into Daniel's welcoming embrace.

"You wanted a cruise." she said, with a sad smile, her eyes still glued at the view ahead of her.

"This isn't the kind of ship I had in mind," Daniel said simply, pressing a kiss in her hair.

'_Nor I' _she stopped herself from replying just in time. Daniel didn't need to know the path of thoughts the unwelcome familiarity of the ship had sent her down. Not when she was in little doubt that the reminders were just as strong for him also.

"Tell me what you're thinking," he whispered imploringly.

After a long tense silence, and just when Daniel was about to plead again, she spoke. "I lost you both on this ship."

Her tone was hollow, detached. The same tone she had used for weeks after their sons kidnapping. It was one he had never wished to hear from her again, but he had assumed this may be the cause of her sudden closed off demeanour.

"I was going to wait to give you this," he said softly, pulling open the vecro on his tac-vest pocket and dripping his hand inside. Grateful he had had the foresight to bring it with him. "But the timing just seems right now."

He slipped the small velvet covered box into her hands.

Leesia turned in his arms, looking up at him with questioning eyes. "What is it?"

"Open it."

Gently she eased open the hinged lid and with a curious frown lifted a small pendent from the box. It was white gold shaped into a teardrop descending from twin stars. She flipped it over in her palm. "Our Stardrop?" She asked, reading the inscription from the back.

"You once told me that the even the stars cried for him," Daniel told her. "I can't begin to tell you how much solace that thought gave me. I hoped that maybe it could do the same for you."

A sob caught in her throat. Looking up it him, she smiled, releasing the tears that had been pooling in her eyes.

He gently swept her tears away with the pads of his thumbs. "The evil doesn't come from a place, Lees. It comes from a person." He said, tugging the necklace that had once held his wedding band from beneath her t-shirt and carefully unhooked the clasp. Taking the pendent from her, he threaded the end through the back of the little stars, before fastening the chain back around her neck. "We're here to make sure that person doesn't leave a legacy."

She nodded in agreement. "You are right."

"Come on," he said, gently pulling her away from the window. "I've got something to show you."

He led her down the short angled corridor to the room that had been set aside for their use and twisted a jackal-headed symbol halfway along the golden hieroglyphed wall. With a hum of the mechanics the twin door slide smoothly away, revealing the luxurious space that they would be staying in for the trip.

Daniel watched for her reaction out of the corner of his eye. Hoping that the differences in this room compared to the rest of the ship would be large enough to help her forget where she was. Right now he would have given his right arm to be back in Jack's battered old cabin, by the lake, where the bugs bite but the fish didn't, rather than this ship. But he was doing his best to make the most out of a bad situation.

Leesia's mouth dropped open and her eyes grew wide, as she took in the changes that had been made to the room. The harsh overhead lighting had been doused, replaced by dozen and dozens of flickering candles, that threw scents of musk and citrus into the air. The glyphed walls had been completely covered by cream material, which joined to a point above a large four poster bed and created a large tent-like appearance, so different from the outside ship that it was impossible to believe they hadn't stepped back in time. They could just as easily have walk into Abydos or Malgena. In fact the only 'Goa'uld' influence to the room was the Zat's the couple wore holstered at their thigh.

"They all felt bad that we're missing our honeymoon." he said, dropping her hand so he could help her off with her pack. "So while we were on our way back to the mountain, Jack had a crew make a few changes for us." Daniel dropped the pack down by the closed doorway, where his own already sat, before unzipped her tac-vest and draped it over the top.

"This is ours…" he continued, as he glided the zipper of her jacket down, before unlatching her belt and adding it to the growing pile. "…For the duration of the trip."

He met her stunned gaze, silently judging her reaction. Would she be able to see past the 'where' and allow the freedom they had felt in Jack's cabin to continue? He hoped so…_Really_ hoped so. He wasn't ready for their time together to be over. Not yet. He just needed a little more time. Time to get the fact that she was here and alive through the thick-headed obstinacy of his subconscious.

And it was so hard to concentrate on that thought while the tingles were super charging his libido.

'_How is it possible that cool blue can appear so warm?' _she wondered, looking up at the heat shimmering from his eyes. There was no mistaking that look in his eyes. It was the same one he had worn every morning since her return. Longing, desire and an underlining hint of … sadness?

Daniel's knuckles gently grazing down her cheek snapped her back to reality. "I know it's not what we had in mind, but-"

"-It is beautiful." she quickly interrupted. She couldn't deny him anything. Especially when he clearly needed it so badly. Speedily, she pushed herself up onto the tips of her toes, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"So, you think you could enjoy a proxy honeymoon here?"

"I believe so, but…"

"But what?"

She smiled sheepishly up at him. "But … I am a little tired." she admitted, pinching her bottom lip between her teeth. "Right now, I just wish to wash and then sleep."

"I thought you might say that." Daniel said with a nod, pleased that she had owned up. It was a lot easier than trying to drag the truth from her. He could feel it in the slight falter to her tingles. Re-starting the ship must have sapped a lot of her strength. Thankfully, he had anticipated that and had planned ahead.

Daniel toed off his boots, and after Leesia had followed suit, he lead her over to the side of the room. As he lifted a flap of the rich material up out of the way a strong floral scent assaulted her nostrils. Behind was another chamber, leading off from the main one. Clearly it as a washroom of some kind, but Leesia had never seen one like this.

The gilded bathroom was nothing short of glorious. Here the blood reds and vivid golds were softly muted, creating a relaxing feel, enhanced by the many vases and jugs that decorated the sides. The rich black flooring, smooth and polished to a mirror-like gleam was warm beneath their bare feet.

A small egg-shaped pool (being the size of a small bed, it was too big to be called a bath) was sunk into the floor and was the central focal point of the room. It was brimming with bubbles and Leesia realised this was the source of the glorious scents that she had been greedily inhaling. She gave Daniel a grateful smile and eagerly started tugging off her BDU's.

Daniel had to hand it to them, the Goa'uld knew how to travel in style. It was beautiful, but the view got significantly better as he watched his wife strip herself down and dip a testing toe into the water.

He couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face from the image before him. "Now there's a sight to behold," Daniel grinned.

With just her face and the tips of her pinking knees poking above the surface, Leesia blinked up at him from the mound of bubbles and threw him a smiled that matched his.

He sauntered across the highly perfumed room and sat down on his haunches, twirling his fingertips in the mass of foam. "Want some company?" he asked hopefully, with a devilish glint in his eye. Already stripping off his own clothing without waiting for her answer.

She pursed her lips as she pretended to ponder the offer over. "That depends." she told him, that mischievous smile that he loved tugging the corners of her mouth up playfully.

Throwing his clothes into a pile by the doorway, Daniel decided to play along with her little ruse and scooped up a pile of the scented bubbles into his palm. "On what?"

"On whether you will hog the bath as much as you do the bed."

Daniel's mouth dropped open in mock horror. "I do not hog the bed."

"You do."

She spluttered as she found her face covered in the scented foam. She swiped it away but it was quickly replaced by a second larger amount.

She desperately tried to swat him away, without luck.

"Okay! Okay!" she gaped through a mouthful of bubbles, sitting up to both protect her face and allow room for her tormentor to slid into the water behind her.

She wriggled backwards, slipping easily between his parted thighs and laid back on his chest. With a contentedly happy sigh, she snuggled back further into him.

"If you're worried about how much room I 'hog'," Daniel teased, "you better stop wriggling like that." he warned, light-heartedly. Then quickly, snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her tighter still into him. Dropping his head to her shoulder he left lingering kisses on her wet skin.

"Arousing you, am I?" she teased right back, with a playful sway of her hips.

"Always." he told her pointedly, because he knew it wouldn't take much of that beautiful bottom rubbing against him, while the tingles were alighting his skin with need, for his body to react the way nature intended.

She kept up the motion. "Are you certain? Because it does not feel like … Oh."

Carefully she twisted around to face him, kneeling between his parted thighs. He was looking at her almost apologetically and quickly she had to lean forward so she could kiss that look from his face.

Under the cover of bubbles he felt her little hand slid up his inner thigh. He murmured against her questing tongue as her had crept higher and higher, fingertips light and smooth over his wet sensitive skin.

He gasped as she grasped him. "I thought… you said you were … tired."

"I am." she said, lightly stroke the hardness held in her tender grip. "This is just for you."

Daniel wanted to answer - tell her that there was really no need and that he was fine - but their single point of contact was making the tingles highly intense and he could barely think the words let alone say them. He felt her touch over each millimetre of his hypersensitive flesh radiating up his spine and throughout his entire body.

"Beside, I doubt you would be able to sleep in this condition." she smiled, watching as he dropped his head back and chest heaved. Daniel hadn't been fooling anyone. She had seen it in the way he touched her, felt it in the intensity of the tingles. The man was wound as tight as a spring, desperate for release.

"It feels good?"

Breathless, Daniel could only nod in answer.

Gradually, she increase her speed, urging him towards the release his body needed and sort. She knew he was getting close when, unable to hold back, Daniel started thrusting into her hand, causing the water to lap over the edge of the pool.

She pressed her free hand against his stomach, a vain attempt to still his unruly hips. He was trembling, his muscles taught. When she saw his face to twist in that pleasured pained expression and dipped her head under the bubbles.

He snapped his head up in shock. She was beneath the water, face in his lap.

His hand fisted in her hair of its own accord, as she tasted him spurt into her mouth.

Raising her head back above the surface, Leesia blinked the water from her eyes and smiled at the happily sleepy look on her husbands face. Maybe tonight he would let her have more than a few hours sleep.

…

_The air was heavy with the scent of sulphur, leaving a metallic taste in his mouth. _

_His Egyptian Princess lay in the thick sticky pool of her own blood. It was black as the night. Even as he approached, Daniel knew she was dead. He knew there was no hope. But he went to her anyway, dropping to his knees._

_As gently as he could, Daniel lifted the corpse, and laid her head on his lap._

_Her unblinking whitened eyes stared through him. "This is your fault." she hissed. Her breath was a cold mist as it crept against his cheek, sending icicles down his spine._

"_I know. I'm sorry."_

"_You let me die."_

"_No." Daniel shook his head, a silent plea for her to believe him._

"_Just like you did with Sha're."_

"_N-no."_

"_And your son."_

"_No!"_

"_That's why she wont have your children." She spat. "No ones is safe with you."_

"_NOOOO!" he cried, tightly clenching his hands over his ears. He didn't want to hear this._

"Daniel?" Leesia was up, hovering over him.

He was thrashing hard, the cover twisted into knots around his legs, while he cried out, "Please! Please stop! No - it's not - Please, don't. No!"

Her usual trick of talking to him and holding him to snap him out of nightmares and allow him to sleep peacefully wasn't working as it normally did. It was time to up the ante.

Taking hold of his bucking form firmly by the shoulders, she shook him. "Daniel! Wake up. You are having a nightmare. You have to wake up. Daniel!"

His eyes popped open, wide and panicked. Panting hard and trembling with fear and shock, he speedily took in his surroundings before locking his eyes to her and letting out a relieved heavy sigh.

"Daniel?" The concern etched thickly in her voice stabbed at him. He didn't want her worry… or pity.

"I'm fine," he told her breathlessly, harshly brushing the embarrassing wetness from his eyes with his fists.

She frowned at him. "You are not fine, Daniel." she told him firmly. "We shall be arriving at Tartarus by morning. This is my first mission. I do not wish to go on it worrying about you. Please - please talk to me."

Daniel didn't want to go there. He didn't want to put voice to the reasons behind his actions. But if the past had taught him anything it was that she saw through most subterfuge straight to the hidden truth, and she wouldn't thank him for keeping her in the dark.

He dropped his head and started fiddling with the corner of the pillow case. "I watched you die." he told her, forcing the words out through his suddenly over tight throat.

"Daniel, look at me." she insisted, gently cupping his check and encouraging his head up to face her. Instantly he turned his blue eyes up to lock into the warmth of her brown. "It was not me. I am here and I am fine."

"I know. But I saw it… and there was nothing I could do but watch my worse nightmare play out before my own eyes…"

"I remember," she whispered mournfully. As soon as the words left her mouth she regretted them and wished she could take them back. This talk wasn't about her pain, it was about his.

She watched as he first frowned at her in confusion, then saw the moment her meaning dawned on him and his mouth dropped open in realisation while his brow twisted in pained understanding.

Daniel chastised himself. How could he have been so stupid? She wasn't talking about her alternates self's death, she was talking about his own. She had held him as the Ancient knowledge overtook his mind. She had listened to his final words before he had ascended. She had watched as he died. Powerless to stop what he had put into motion. Helpless against the outcome. "I'm sorry." he breathed out, guiltily.

She stroked his sweaty bangs off his equally sweaty forehead. "You have nothing to apologise for."

"How did you cope?" he asked, looking up at her hopefully. She had been through this. Why hadn't he seen it before?

"While you were gone?" she signed out a resigned breath. "I didn't… But once you came back, I put it behind me."

"You're right. I just - I." Shaking his head, he admitted, "I don't know how. How do you cope with something like this? How do you put it behind you?"

Compassionately, she stroked her hand down his cheek. "You have to admit it, Daniel."

"Admit what?

"That you are relieved it was her and not I that died."

"I-" Daniel froze, dumbfounded.

Once again his beautifully insightful wife had seen the hidden truth that even he himself hadn't seen. Because he was relieved. Thankful, even. Throw his arms up to the heavens and scream out praise to every god that ever was or would be, delighted, that it was not _his _Leesia that died. But how could he admit that? How could he admit that he felt any kind of positive feeling over a death? How could he choose one version of Leesia over another?

"Easier said then done." he grumbled.

"Daniel." Her tones was suddenly harsh and insistent. She took his face in both hands and forced him to look her straight in the eye. "This has to stop!"

"I'm trying." he said, mournfully dropping his gaze.

"No you are not!" she snapped, tightening her hold, forcing him look back up at her. "You are wallowing. Everyone is trying to appease you, including myself and yet none of the efforts are being appreciated, merely endured. I for one am not going to abide by this self pitying attitude any longer."

As she continued to chastise him, Daniel's face creased up and he pinched both lips between his teeth. He couldn't help it. _'Damn it, she's just so cute when she's angry.'_

"This is not like you! You hardly sleep and when you do you are experiencing violent nightmares. You hardly leave my side anymore and when you do it is for as brief a time as possible. You keep me close physically, yet you push me aside, along with everything else, when it come to your emotional pain. I am getting most irked with it!"

And suddenly he couldn't hold it in any longer. He burst into laughter. Load belly clenching laughter that made his eyes water.

"I do not see what is so funny." Leesia demanded scowling at him.

That only made him laugh all the harder.

"I'm sorry - I'm sorry," he sniggered out, tightly holding his aching stomach. "It's just, It's just -" he snorted and was off again, rolling onto his back into another fit of loud guffaws.

Leesia rolled her eyes at him, but couldn't help the smile that climbed onto her face. To hear him laughing - and not just a polite chuckle, but a full abandoned laughter. It was such a lovely sound.

He pulled her into his arms, chortling heartily into her neck. She followed suit, wrapping her arms around his shuddering waist, as he pulled her close.

"You know, you could have just said get over it." he snorted.

"Get over it!" Leesia quickly retorted with a mischievous grin.

He smiled, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Cupping her face with both hands he briefly brought their lips together. "You really are amazing. Thank you."

"Thank you for letting me in…finally. You know you really are too stubborn for your own good sometimes."

His smile grew wider. "I don't know how you put up with me."

"Having to keep up with your insensible sexual appetite recently has been." She huffed out on over dramatic sigh. "… tiresome." She grinned cheekily, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "Yet it is a challenge I would gladly take up again."

Chuckling in glee, Daniel shook his head. "I love you."

"I love you also."

"Just promise me something." he asked, his tone turning to serious.

"Anything." she instantly swore. Anything to keep that loving gaze upon his face rather than the pained one she had been witnessing for the past few weeks. Anything she could do to ease any suffering he had endured she would gladly do a thousand times over.

"Never, ever, under any circumstances, call me 'Honey'."

"I promise." she vowed, without hesitation. Although, now she considered it she could understand her other self's choice in her chosen pet name for him. The incredible sweetness made in the most unlikely of places did hold a resemblance to Daniel good nature, despite being surrounded by more hardened military types. She considered that maybe the Honeybee itself was probably more suited to him. The busy little insets that worked in perfect harmony with the other member of their hive, bore a similarity to how Daniel worked. Although he was searching for answers rather than nectar. The SGC defiantly had a 'hive-like' quality about it. Each member of the 'hive' ready to defend to the death if need be. Unlike them however, Daniel carried his sting in his tongue and not in the tail.

She giggled at the last thought.

"Now what's funny?" he quizzed, puzzled by her reaction.

She repeated her thought to him, wording it carefully and was grateful when he laughed out loud too.

"You do realise what that means?" he asked still chuckling. "Your theory would make Jack the Queen Bee."


	11. Chapter 11 Comes the Sting

**Chapter 11 ~ … Comes The Sting**

"You ready for this?"

Leesia looked up from fastening her thigh harness, over at Daniel who was watching her closely while tugging on his tac-vest.

"I am not ready for the Honeymoon to be over," she smiled at him, cheekily, hoping that her own nervousness wouldn't show through. It was clear from his apprehensive expression that he was just as nervous as she was… maybe even more so.

A grin broke through the worried expression Daniel wore and he stepped over to his wife, wrapping his arms around her hips.

"There's still the ride home," he whispered promisingly behind her ear, tugging her body close to his own.

"You think the room can withstand it?" she asked, as she peered over his shoulder at the shambles they had left in their wake.

Daniel, briefly followed her gaze, taking in the sight of the room; The rumpled bed, the knocked over table, the clothes thrown haphazardly over the floor. There was no denying that this 'Honeymoon suit' had hosted plenty of action in the last few days.

"Guess we'll find out," he grinned, resisting the urge to kiss that milky neck so tantalizing close to his lips. They would be arriving at the planet any moment now and they didn't have time to get side tracked. No matter how great the appeal was.

"Shall we get this mission over with so we can on with that?" he asked, reluctently pulling back and shoving his wanton hands deep into his pockets before he could act on his temptation. "Sooner we get going, the sooner we get back."

"I like that plan," she said through a huge grin of her own, threading her arm through his they made their way to the Pel'tac where the others were waiting.

"As soon as we drop out of hyperspace engage the cloak," Sam told Teal'c, taking a seat beside him in the co-pilot chair. He nodded silently in response, his eyes glued to the viewport ahead.

With a jolt, the swirled blue of hyperspace vanished from view, replaced by a bright orange planet against the black background of space, growing slowly larger as they approached.

Sam immediately went to work, jabbing at the controls and a holographic image of the facility on the planets surface below them materialised instead over the viewport.

"Scanners are picking up life signs."

"Not a wasted trip then," Cam said, already slamming the ammo down into the top of his P90 getting ready for action. "Any way of telling what kind? Are we beaming into Super Soldier City Central or what?"

"The red dots would indicate the presence of a Symbiot," Sam told him. "But that could be Kull, Goa'uld or Jaffa. There's no way to determine which. And the blue, those without."

"Human?" Leesia asked, worriedly, eyeing up the much larger quantity of pale blue flashing dots. There was so many.

"More than likely, but there really is no way to tell from here precisely what each one is."

"Right then, that's our beam down point," Cam said, indicating a spot on the screen. "Stealth is the word boys and girls. Assess the situation, plant the C4 then get the hell out of dodge. Keep the engine running for us big guy." he added clapping Teal'c on the shoulder.

Leesia couldn't help but wish that Teal'c was coming with them on her first official mission as a full member of SG-1. She was nervous and wanted the calming and secure feeling she always gained from the Jaffa's presence. Unfortunately someone had to stay behind to keep control of the ship and prevent the autopilot from disengaging the cloaking device and revealing their position. She would have offered to stay behind herself, but while her ability had been able to control the autopilot and get them to the planet in the first place, she would be next to useless now it had done it's job. As Teal'c was the most qualified and experienced pilot of Goa'uld ships he was the best and most obvious choice.

Taking a steadying breath, she took up Osiris's altered hand device and stepped up with the other three ready to beam down. Daniel's hand came to the small of her back and was a comfort as she pressed down on the top button and seconds later the golden interior of the ship was replaced with blackness and the lingering stench of smoke.

"Why is it so dark?" Leesia asked, her voice little more than a whisper, yet sounding very loud to her in the still silence. Before the sentence had fully finished, three separate small beams of light lit up from around her, highlighting the faces of her companions and reminding her that she too had a touch in her kit. Cursing her own stupidity, she fished about her person until she found what she was looking for and a fourth beam joined the other three.

She froze, suddenly realising why none of the others had answered her question.

They had beamed right into the middle of a sea of Kull warriors.

…

"So," Mitchell barked the word out, craning his neck forward to try and view the newest member of his team around his raised arm. "what do you think of your first mission so far? Not what you expected?"

Wearing a look of complete disbelief, Leesia also leaned forward so she could see the Colonel and judge whether or not he was joking. She was trying to put on a brave face, but the fear in her soulful eyes was evident, even through her confusion, to the others in the cell.

Shackled to the wall beside her, Daniel interrupted on his wife's behalf when it became clear she was too stumped by the man's light-hearted question to actually answer it. "I dunno. Aside from these," he said giving his manacles a shake, making the chains rattle, "this is pretty much on par with our first mission."

"Yep," Sam agreed, picking up her cue, "dirty Goa'uld prison, people waiting to be chosen. If we could just get a friendly neighbourhood Jaffa to join our ranks and blast us out of here, I could definitely draw a parallel."

Daniel couldn't help the warm feeling that settled on him at that moment. That first fateful mission to Chulak he had only taken in hope of finding Sha'ra. He had been searching for his wife, stolen from him in the height of his happiness. That had been the start of the downward spiral, that lead to her implantation and subsequent death. It was a little comforting to know that this time round his love sat beside him, her slightly tumbling thigh pressed tight enough to his that he could feel her warmth through their clothes. "We'll be able to copy and paste the mission report." Daniel concluded Sam's evaluation with a nod and a small smile. "Although we'd have to edit the names, places and dates... And we'd have to mention the smell, that's definitely pungent enough to deserve a mention."

Mitchell viewed the others with a strong sense of pride. Their easy banter smothering the rising panic that would no doubt be overwhelming, especially for the unaccustomed former Ancient. It soothed them, bonded them and kept up their spirits. Oh, yeah he was on the right team! "Not satisfied with the accommodation, Jackson?"

"Frankly I expected better." Daniel stated, glad that the new CO was so quick to pick up the teams familiar ways. Making jokes in the face of danger was usually Jack's job, it was reassuring to see that the humour was still present even though Jack himself wasn't. "Five class facility, and not even one star accommodation. The room service is terrible and don't even get me started on the en suite …bucket. There's not even a chocolate on the pillow," he concluded with a small laugh.

"That's a good thing," Leesia said screwing her face up in a mock grimace.

Hiding a grin, pleased that Leesia was joining in with their banter, it would help ease off the panic, Daniel played along. "Why's that?"

"You know how little I care for chocolate."

"Yes, but I could have yours," he pointed out adamantly.

"Fight ya for it," Sam piped in.

Daniel laughed through his nose. "You'd be in for a battle, it is chocolate after all."

"And while you two were fighting, I am sure Cam would have eaten it," Leesia said, finally joining them with a small smile.

"Damn straight," Cam agreed, with a broad grin.

A silence stretched through the stillness of their prison. At least now it wasn't the pointed horror filled silence it had been before, now it wasn't as terrifying. There was comfort to be found in the desperation... That is until Leesia interrupted it, "We are certain the queen was killed?" The quiver in her voice was not quite masked, though it was clear she tried.

"Unless there's a way she could have survive a C4 explosion in her face," Sam said with confidence. "I think it's a pretty safe bet that she's dead."

"Well, that's something." Leesia stated with a relieved sounding sigh. It was something. Not much, but something. Whatever fate awaited them when their captors were ready, at least implantation wasn't on the schedule.

Seeing how scared Leesia was, Daniel didn't really want to voice the question that had been niggling at him since they beamed down, but he knew he really had to. They all needed to know. "What's been bugging me is what does Ba'al need humans for if he had no symbiotes?"

"What are you saying, Jackson? You think he has found a Queen?" Cam asked.

"No, I'm just thinking aloud. We know he's making Kulls, and making them differently somehow."

"How do we know that?"

"Well, it stands to reason. These ones act differently and seem to have a longer lifespan. Also the cloning equipment is destroyed and he hasn't rebuilt any of it."

"That we saw," Sam interrupted.

"That we saw," Daniel agreed with a nod. "We also haven't seen any of these humans that, according to the scanner, should be all over this place."

"You're assuming that they were human," Sam said. "The scanner only picks up the presence of a symbiote, or the lack of. They could be anything really."

The juddering clanging of many hard boots against a harder floor interrupted their talk, increasing in volume as they neared and moments later the sound of a heavy bolt being slid back. Each member of the new SG-1, minus their own missing Jaffa, turned door-wards. Two Jaffa came inside and framed the doorway, standing alert for their 'God'.

"The infamous SG-1," Ba'al sneered as he entered.

"Didn't know you were a fan, Bally," Mitchell mocked. "Tell you what, let us slip of these accessories and we'll do you an autograph."

The Goa'uld snorted out a humourless chuckle. "Where is the Shol'va?"

The question was met with three raised chinned and tight lipped looks of stubborn defiance from Sam, Mitchell and Daniel. Leesia kept her head bowed down, afraid her fear would show through and betray the teams gathered bravery. She wouldn't be the weak link. She refused to let them down.

"Well, you know how bad the traffic gets around here. I'm sure he'll be along any minute now." Cam replied, keeping up the act.

Ba'al looked down his nose at them, then addressed his Jaffa. "The two males." he ordered, jabbing his finger first at Cameron, then to Daniel.

"No." Leesia cried out, her fear all but forgotten, as the two Jaffa moved to follow their orders. She struggled to get her feet beneath her and quickly stood, her arms pulled back as she strained as far forward as the chains would allow. "Take me instead."

Arms folded across his robe-clad chest, Ba'al turned to face the interrupter for the first time. For the briefest of seconds he hesitated, a slight tilting of his head as his eyes studied her closely, before a knowing smile of mockery split his face. "You misunderstand." his dual voice scoffed. "There is no instead, only first, second and so on."

"Then take me first." Leesia demanded. She heard a wavered inhale behind her right shoulder and knew it was Daniel. He wasn't liking this idea. She knew he wouldn't, but she hoped he could see her thinking.

Here, shackled to the walls by metal cuffs, her ability was useless to them. But out of her chains, in the facility filled with Goa'uld technology, she had a chance.

While Ba'al tilted his head and pursed his lips as he contemplated her request, Leesia held her breath, hoping. "Very well." Ba'al agree with a slight nod, before turning to his Jaffa and barking. "Take her to examination!"

The Jaffa immediately jumped into action, crossing the small cell in wide stride and shoving her back so they could access her shackles. Out of the corner of her eye she met Daniel's pleadingly worried gaze. He was biting his lip. Whether in worry or to stop himself from speaking and giving away an emotional weakness to the enemy, she could only guess at. Most likely it was a mix of both and she tried to offer some comfort to him by look alone, as she was yanked forcibly from the cell.

Held tightly between two Jaffa, she tried to memorize the twists and turns as she was dragged through the hallways of the fortress-like laboratory. Looking out for any memorable details she could use like sign posts on route back to the others. But that was useless. Each corridor was identical to the last. Just when she thought she was going to lose track of how many turns, in which direction and in what order, the Jaffa jerked her to a halt.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a door slide open and immediately started 'feeling' for the technology within.

It was not familiar!

Why hadn't she considered this possibility? The Goa'uld were scavengers by nature. They stole technology from other races. But the thought that she would be faced with a technology she knew nothing about, and therefore not be able to influence, hadn't occurred to her.

She dared a peek at the dim interior of the room she had been taken to and her stomach turned. The word 'examination' echoed hauntingly through her mind, as her eyes fell on the solitary contraption in the centre of the room. She didn't know what Ba'al had meant by examination. Whether he meant it as interrogation or (God forbid)…medical, but she was about to find out. Whether she wanted to or not. Seven foot long, three wide, the apparatus could neither be described as a bed or a table. Framed with raised edges and headed with many dials. She had no intent to being laid out on that slab and the last precious drop of her forced bravery drained out of her.

She dug her heels in, throwing her weight backwards. "No! Please, please don't!" she begged the Jaffa pitifully, desperately trying to reverse their forward motion. "Please, please. Stop!"

They weren't even slowed by her efforts, nor moved by her pleading. They merely gripped her tighter, squeezing her biceps painfully and dragged her kicking and screaming into the room.

"No! Please! Daniel, HELP!" she cried out hysterically fearful, as she was lifted off the floor. She thrashed in their grip. "Daniel! Daniel! DAAANNNNIELLLLL!"

No sooner was she dumped upon it when the centre panel lit up and it felt like her limbs were suddenly lined with lead. Weighted down, she couldn't move a single muscle, or lift a finger. Even her panic breathing felt tight and heavy.

It was an uneasy and disturbingly familiar feeling, being laid out, immobile. But her scream caught in her throat in terror, as Ba'al followed them in and stared down at her. "Really Kabechet, this behaviour highly unladylike."

With no clue as to who the Goa'uld had mistaken her for, Leesia ignored him, keeping her lips firmly locked together and tried to take deep calming breaths, fighting to hold back the rising panic. She couldn't panic now. Not when the others needed her.

"Ingenious device is it not?" Ba'al gloated, stroking the edges of the slab affectionately. "Increases the gravity pull on the subject, rendering them completely…helpless." The way he added the last word and the twinkle in his eye as he said it, sent a fierce shiver down her spine. "Of course, reverse the settings and it can be used for much more pleasurable activates." A wicked grin added to the overall creep factor.

"Why have you come?"

Tight-lipped, Leesia returned his stare, concentrating on her breathing in an attempt to not cry in fear. Even if she had been in a fit state to use her voice she would not have answered that question.

Ba'al leaned over, resting his forearms on the side of the device, so his face was inches from hers.

"Your son is not here."

That got her undivided attention. Up until then her heart had been beating a tango against the inside of her ears, now it set up residence in the pit of her stomach.

Seeing the shift in his prisoner's demeanor, Ba'al smiled again. "Yes, I've read a great deal about you and your intriguing offspring here."

"I'm certain I have no idea what you are talking about," she choked out.

"Come, come, come, Princess. Let's not keep things from old friends."

From reading through the many mission reports, Leesia had been sure it was Lord Yu that had the mental problems, but now hearing Ba'al referring to her in way she didn't understand, she was not so sure anymore. Calling her 'Princess', saying they were 'old friends' and that name he had called her when he had first come in; 'Kebachet'? Yet he claimed to have read about her and knew about her son. It didn't make sense... 'Maybe insanity is more common among the Goa'uld then believed,' she pondered, 'after all even Daniel went more than mildly crazy after continued use of the sarcophagus.'

Of course a crazy Goa'uld made him all the more dangerous. "Friends, old or new, do not hold one another against their will," she stammered out, barely able to speak around the tightness gripping her throat.

"No," Ba'al agreed, "that's left to family I believe."

He pushed himself upright and, turning his back to her, started searching through SG-1's packs. "My, my, what have we here?" he said, holding aloft Osiris's hand-device, closely inspecting the alteration made to the back.

Leesia swallowed hard. Cloaked or not, if Ba'al pressed the button he would be beamed onto the ship. Teal'c would be taken by surprise. By an armed and evidently crazy Goa'uld nonetheless.

But then she reconsidered. That may give her the chance she needed to escape. She couldn't start using her abilities with him in the same room, but if he left... She may even have time to radio a warning to Teal'c if she could figure out the workings of this device quick enough.

"Try it," she challenged.

Ba'al snorted. "Some other time," he said with disinterest, tossing it back, then rounding to face her once again. "For now I have more... compelling matters."

Leesia screwed her eyes shut and tried to will her skin to stop crawling as the Goa'uld slowly drew the backs of his fingers down the side of her throat.

"My Lord, it is done as requested."

Ba'al's eyes thinned at the Jaffa's interruption. "Make yourself comfortable Princess," he said mockingly, running his fingers up over her cheek deliberately lightly. "I'll be back as soon as I have taken care of business."

Before he had fully left the room, Leesia was putting her plan into action. Sending out a wave to the device she was held onto, she felt through it, searching for it's power source… It was like trying to read in the dark. In desperation she started jabbing at parts in random, hoping to get lucky.

She gasped in shocked surprise as she suddenly lifted up off the device and started floating up into the air. Reversing the gravitational pull, hadn't been what she was hoping for, but maybe this could work. At least she could move.

Twisting, she managed to flip herself over so she was face down. Floundering in mid air she made a mental note to learn how to swim if they got out of this mess as she desperately tried to claw for the edge of the device. finally, she managed to hock her middle finger around the raised side and heaved herself over, falling heavily to the floor.

"Owww," she groaned, pausing for a second to catch a much needed breath, before pushing herself up and speeding over to where Ba'al had conveniently left their supplies. Unsurprisingly the guns and zats were missing, but the radios, packs and tac vest were all there. Choosing a vest at random, she quickly pulled it on, stuffed Osiris's hand device into one of the packs and slung it over her shoulder. Crossing to the doorway, she peeked both ways down the thankfully deserted corridor. Praying she could remember the route and wishing that she was armed, she crept out.

...

"Hello?"

Sam immediately stopped scraping away the mortar from around the bolt chaining her to the wall with her belt buckle at the sound of that voice. "Leesia? Is that you?" she called back in a hushed whisper.

The cell door swung open and Leesia hurried inside. "Oh thank heavens," she gasped out. "These doors all look alike, I was beginning to think I would never-" She froze mid-sentence as she stared in dreaded surprise around the cell.

Daniel and Cameron were nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?"

"After the Jaffa took you, Ba'al order them to be taken too." Sam told her, signaling her over and pulling the small explosive charge that she could use to free herself from the chains for the other woman's tac pocket. She didn't add that they had been left just long enough to hear Leesia's terrified screams before they'd both been zatted unconscious and carried from the cell.

"Why?" Leesia sighed morbidly, not really surprised that the Goa'uld had gone back on his word.

"Lets not wait to find out," Sam said, blowing the charge. "What do we have?"

"Supplies, no weapons," Leesia told her shaking her head, "but I did get the hand device."

"Right," Sam nodded. With no weapons recon was out, it was now solely search and rescue. At least escape wouldn't be an issue as long as Teal'c had kept the ship hidden.

Free of her chains, Sam lead Leesia to the doorway. "They were taken this way. Did you hear them pass you?"

"No."

"So they must be somewhere between here and where you were held."

Leesia nodded in agreement, following the more experienced woman down the quiet hallway.

Painstakingly slowly they search room after room, until finally they found them. While Leesia kept lookout Sam enter the chamber, quickly assessing them both. Lying unconscious on the same devices that Leesia had been held upon, both men appear uninjured at first glance. But not taking anything for granted, Sam quickly placed her first two fingers to Cam's pulse point.

"He's alive," she called over to Leesia, quickly darting over to Daniel. "They both are."

"The devices affect the gravitational pull. They will not be able to move," Leesia told her from the doorway.

Thinking fast, Sam made the decision. "Let's get out of here," she said, waving Leesia over and pulling the hand device out of the pack she wore. They could assess the situation once they were back on the ship.

Holding hands to form a link between the the two men, they activated the hand device and beamed back on board the ship.

The instant they were safe, Leesia dropped to her husband's side.

"Daniel?" she called over his immobile form, giving his shoulders a shake and then a firmer one when he didn't respond. Meanwhile Sam was giving Cam similar treatment beside her.

"Why won't they wake?"

"I don't know," Sam replied, "The effects of the zat blasts should have worn off long before now," she said shaking her head in confusion. "Damn it, wake up!"

Instantly both men's eye snapped open, staring fixed, unblinking at the ceiling above them.

"Okay, that's a little creepy," Sam spoke under her breath as her eyes tennised between the two of them. Neither man spoke nor moved a muscle.

"Maybe more than a little."

"Sam?" Leesia spoke up, her voice wavering as her lips trembled in fear, "There is something in his neck."


	12. Chapter 12 Control

Chapter 12 ~ Control

Jack watched from between two of the infirmary beds, while his best friend and his CO sat stiffly on them, facing each other in a disturbing silence. Their glazed eyes focused on nothing, their limbs hanging rigid, no slight swinging of their legs or fiddling of fingers. No natural frown from Daniel, no boyish grin from Mitchell. It was downright unnatural and not for the first time since the team had returned to the SGC a chill ran through him.

With the exception of when they were given a direct command, neither man had moved during their hour long examination and the magnitude of test the good ol' Doc had cooked up for them. Nothing. Not a twitch, not a fletch, not a tremor. Nothing, zilch, naught, nadda. Just the space cadet staring and their abbreviated blinking. Precisely three per minute, Jack had noted, without fail.

It was too, too creepy for words.

Leaning back, Jack eyed the back of Daniel's neck. At first glance the gizmo looked harmless enough, more like a metallic band-aid then anything sinister. It wasn't until he got a closer inspection that he saw what they were truly faced with; Dozens of minuscule hooks framed the edges of the device, embedded into Daniel's flesh, pulling his skin taught.

For the second time in as many minutes Jack cringed.

Two beds over a curtain was pulled back, revealing Leesia and Sam fresh from their own post mission medicals.

Sam hopped lightly off the beds and, rearranging her long black sleeves, joined Jack in his silent visual. "No change?"

"None." Jack confirmed, watching Leesia follow Sam around the bed, then head immediately over to stand in front of Daniel, who remained statue still as she moved into his field of vision, staring fixedly through her, rather than at her.

"Can't you do anything about it?" Jack asked her, twirling his index finger at both the men. "You know, Get your mojo going?"

"I would advise against that, General," Janet interrupted before Leesia could reply. "Their Cat Scans show the implants are directly woven into the spinal column and extend up into the brain. Tampering with them without knowing precisely what we're dealing with could leave them with brain damaged, quadriplegic or worse."

"Not seeing the different right now." Jack replied. "Can they be removed?"

"Without being able to do an MRI to get a clearer picture it's difficult to say."

"Say," Jack remained.

"At this point I'd say; no," the Doctor admitted, " but I'm out of my league here."

Jack understood Janet's reluctance. The only time a Goold extraction had been attempted in the SGC had been a colossal failure. With lives on the line it wasn't a risk they'd be prepared to take, not unless they absolutely had to. What he didn't understand was; what was the point? "What would Ba'al have to gain from this?" he voiced his question aloud. As far as he could see all the devices had done had turned them into living breathing statues.

"I have been thinking about that," Sam said.

"I'd be surprised if you ever stopped, Carter."

Sam ignored him and continued with her theory. "For all intents and purposes the devices are acting much the same way as the undeveloped Goa'uld symbiote did. Pretty much a hollow vessel. The entire journey back we've had to tell them when to eat, sleep, even use the bathroom. They don't act of their own accord anymore, they only follow instructions. It's the perfect soldier. Obey without question. It would appear that because Ba'al didn't have the Queen at his disposal to produce offspring he devised a way of creating his own."

"Robot snakes?" Jack exclaimed.

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Okay, now I've heard everything," Jack said. "Have they even spoken?"

"Not one word," Leesia said sadly, staring into Daniel's vacant blue eyes and reaching up to gently touch his face.

"It's true," Sam agreed. "We took shifts keeping a visual on them twenty-four seven on our way back. There was nothing. Not even when they're were directly told to."

"Jeez," Jack shook his head. Days without being able to talk?! Rendered totally mute. '_This must be killing Daniel'._ Because that was what was freaking him out most of all. Quiet Daniel was never a good sign. "How do we know they're even still in there?"

Leesia face snapped to Jack's, eyes wide and mouth ajar in panicked fear. That was a question she hadn't even thought of - not until Jack brought it up. They HAD to be in there. They just had to. Because the alternative... it didn't bear thinking about.

"I've been wondering that too," Sam said quickly, silently cursing her lovers lack of tack. Especially in front of the former Ancient, who had been nothing short of a worried wreck ever since she had first spotted the devices. With the Goa'uld, despite what they often claimed, the host did survive. Trapped within their own bodies, unable to effect their action, but alive nonetheless. That had proven time and time again. She couldn't see why this would be any different. "There's a simple way to find out. Leesia, could you ask them to do something, in Ancient?"

Confused as to why, but trusting Sam would explain, Leesia turned to the zoned men and said as firmly as she could, "Consurgunt!"

Instantly Daniel rose to his feet, arms stiff by his side, like he was coming to attention. Mitchell however didn't move a muscle.

"Well, that proves it," Sam stated with a prideful smile.

"Yes," Jack droaned out cluelessly, "… Proves what exactly?" Apart from, for once, Daniel had actually followed an order straight away and without question, and more importantly the military man who was trained to follow orders, hadn't, Jack couldn't see what information had been 'proved' by Sam's little test.

"That the mind is still there, just … repressed. If they were simply controlled totally by the device, with no remnants of themselves remaining, then either both of them would have responded or neither of them would have. Since Daniel is the only one who can speak Ancient and therefore understand the order he was the only one to - Where are you going?" she asked as Jack turned to leave the infirmary mid-way through her explanation.

"To contact the Tok'ra," Jack replied over his shoulder. "They're always saying we're in over our heads, now's the chance for them to prove themselves right."

…

For the most part, Janet loved her job. She had always wanted to make a difference in people's lives and relished a challenge. There was nothing she found more rewarding than saving lives and her position within the SGC provided her with the opportunity to save those lives in more elaborate ways than her imagination could ever dream of. But there were times, and this was one of them, when being a Doctor sucked.

Then again, having THE talk with the next of kin was never easy, no matter what the situation or circumstance.

She kept her tone and expression professional as she turned to Leesia and Jack who were both looking at her wondering why they had been summoned to her office, the latter asking, "Why do I get the feeling we're not gonna like this?"

Not wanting them to get ahead of themselves Janet began, "You need to know that when Daniel joined the SGC he made out a living will."

Leesia blinked at her, then looked around to Jack, searching for someone to explain. "I am sorry, I do not know what that means."

"He gave Jack power of attorney," Janet hurried on, knowing Leesia's question would be explained as she went on and carefully watching Jack's reaction to the news. "He was very specific. He requested that should he be in a position where he was unable to make decisions for himself he would wish for any and all life support to be terminated."

"Of course he did," Jack threw an irritated glare at the ceiling. '_Dammit, Daniel. Why put me - ME in this position_?'

"He is not on life support." Leesia queried.

"It includes feeding." Janet said, her tone turning very sympathetic seeing the panic flaring on the former Ancients face.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Leesia's hand go to her mouth in shock and without thinking he grasped her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. '_Don't worry Sparky, that's never gonna happen.'_ He addressed Janet angrily. "What exactly are you suggesting _Doctor_?"

"I'm not suggesting anything, _General_." Janet threw his tone back at him. "I am merely keeping you informed that Daniel had certain wishes about his treatment, or lack of it, should he ever become a Goa'uld host."

"Unscheduled Off-world activation! Unscheduled Off-world activation!" Walter's voice echoed through the room as the alarm sounded.

"For crying out loud, now what?" Jack grumbled, his irritation already maxed out. "This isn't done." he added, already existing Janet's office muttering, "This better be good news" under his breath.

Janet turned almost warily to the silent Leesia. The flickering of her PC monitor screen telling her that the other woman was far from happy with the news, even if her face gave little away. "Leesia, you have to understand. At the time when Daniel did this, he had just had Sha'ra taken from him and had watched what happened to Major Kowalski when he had become host to a Goa'uld."

Leesia was shaking her head. "I just cannot fathom Daniel ever giving up. No matter how dia the situation."

"I think that's why he chose Jack as his power of attorney," Janet said with a small knowing smile. "He knew Jack wouldn't take that option if there was another way."

"Is there another way?" Leesia asked desperately.

Janet gently gave the other woman's arm a squeeze. "I really hope so. And believe me when I say that we will do anything possible to find it."

Leesia turned to look out of Janet's office window, eyes fixed to the last two bed in the infirmary and the two immobile men on them. "I hope so also," she said sadly, wrapping her arms around her waist.

...

"What have you got for us, Walter?" Jack asked striding into the control room and finding that Sam had already beaten him there.

"Receiving IDC," the airmen replied, frowning at the monitor as 'Invalid Signal' flashed up upon it. "It doesn't clear."

"Tok'ra?" Jack asked hopefully. Would it be too much to ask that they had gotten back to them quickly for once.

"Negative. It looks like it's an old one. It's yours, ma'am," Walter said, addressing Sam. "Or at least, it was. It's been invalid for four months. Receiving text message."

Jack's eyebrows went skywards as the words 'Send M.A.L.P.' appeared on the monitor. "I think we'd better check this out." Sam said, looking up at him.

O'Neill nodded. "Prepare a MALP."

...

Leesia didn't know how long she sat there between them both, wracking her brain for something to say to end the deafening silence, when a lieutenant entered, one she had seen around the base but didn't know her name. The woman busily deposited a tray of food for each men on the wheeled tables beside them and left. She clearly wasn't privileged to the knowledge that neither of them would eat unless they were told. They would lay there beside the meals and starve if it was left up to them.

Sadly, she moved over to Cam, telling him, "Sit up." He complied immediately, sitting at a perfectly stiff right angle on the bed and she pushed the table over his lap. "Eat." Once he was forking the distasteful looking hospital food into his mouth, Leesia turned and repeated the same for Daniel.

This was no life for them, she thought as she watched them robotically ingest their meal. Being told when to eat, when to sleep, being unable to communicate in any way with their friends and loved ones. Being unable to pursue any of their passions... Even substance their own lives.

She screwed her eyes tight against the burning of tears and for the first time understood why Janet had brought up the subject of Daniel's wishes regarding his own life should this fate befall him. He would prefer death over this.

"I wish you could tell me what to do," she whispered sadly, just loud enough for him to hear her. He didn't respond, just continued to eat as he had been requested, with precise purposeful movements. Despite appearances, she knew he could hear her. She knew it ... Not that it made any difference. He couldn't reply. No matter how badly either of them wanted.

It made her ache to see him like this. Cold. Hollow. Numb. Yet, that was only on the outside. The appearance the device had forced on the pair of them. On the inside they could be screaming, pleading... in pain. There was no way to know and no way for them to tell her. But what could she do? From the moment she had met the brilliant man Daniel had always been her support, her guide. She sort answers from his beautifully insightful mind. She needed that guidance now. '_What would he do_?' The answer came to her almost as quickly as the thought had occurred: Daniel would be locked in his office, researching every clue he had to go on to death, not sleeping until he found the answers. Or at least until he had a lead to go on.

Could the answers to the present lay in the writings of the past? She doubted it, but she had nothing else to go on. Just names: Ba'al had done this to them, so she could start researching there, and it had been within Anubis' labs where this had happened to them, so she added his name to the list. Maybe one of them had a history of similar actions. Ones that could provide answered to their current problem. It was a long shot, but it was something. Then there was the person whom Ba'al had mistaken her for: Kabechet. She thought it unlikely that she would find answers there, but she wasn't going to rule any option out. Not when Daniel and Cam's lives depended on it.

When both their plates were empty she cleared them away. Raising the heads of their beds so they could lay back without getting indigestion and ordered them both to rest so their food could go down. "I will be back soon," she promised them, before kissing Daniel's ridged cheek. With another quick glance at her immobile husband, Leesia left the infirmary.

As soon as they were alone both men got up. While Cam went to the cabinet on the wall at the far end of the infirmary where many of the drugs were stored, Daniel entered Janet's office, heading straight for her computer.

...

With purpose speeding her, Leesia reached Daniel's lab quickly and immediately rushed to the shelf she knew he had stored his research into the Egyptian God's.

There were dozens. Inside the pictographs and elaborate script within held no resemblance to the either alphabet she was familiar with. She sighed in frustration, flicking quickly through the pages in the hope that Daniel may have made some notes in the margins. She knew it was a frivolous search right from the beginning. Daniel cared too much for books to mark them with his scribbles.

With another sigh she slammed the unhelpful book closed and turned to eye up the shelves he used for translations with a disappointed yet determined look. This was going to be more difficult than she had first thought.

**...**

From the control room, Jack watched the MALP trundle up the ramp below them and disappear into the stargate. His gut was telling him there was something seriously wrong with this picture. How could anyone have gotten Sam's IDC - even an old one? Their allies knew how to contact them and wouldn't need the MALP, that only left the bad guys. And this was SO not the time to be dealing with more bad guys.

"MALP is on route… MALP has reached its destination," Walter informed them professionally.

Curiously, Jack turned his attention to the monitor in front of Sam. Oddly, the screen was completely black. "Sam?"

"We are receiving MALP telemetry. Signal is five by five," she told him, puzzled. "Video's working fine, there's just nothing to see... Switching to IR."

As soon as she made her adjustments a faint silhouette appeared on the screen, moving in the distance, coming closer to the camera.

"What's that?" O'Neill asked, resting his hand on her shoulder so he could lean over and get a better view.

Sam pursed her lips and shrugged. "Switching off IR. Going to white light."

As soon as the figure became clear Sam jerked her head back in amazement. "That's _me_." she stated unnecessarily. The second Carter was silent, staring back at them on the monitor.

"Alright, you've got our attention. Who are you?"

"My name is Samantha Carter."

"Alright, we've got a little conflict with that statement. We've already got one here."

"There are two of us."

"If only." Jack said without thinking. There was no way his luck was _that _good. Sam shot him with a dirty look over her shoulder and he quickly cleared his throat in embarrassment.

With her partner suitably chastised, Sam turned back to the screen. "Where are you from? How did you know how to contact us?"

"Strange. I recognise my voice. I was made in Samantha Carter's image. I know what she knows. I feel what she feels."

"You were made. Who made you?"

"The one you call Fifth."

"Oh, my God." Sam gasped, turning back to Jack with a worried look of concern. "She's a replicator."

'_Great,_' Jack thought, '_as if one damn robot alien problem wasn't enough.'_

...

Brushing her mouth to clear it of any lingering crumbs, Janet walked back into her office and dropped the napkin into the wastepaper basket. Eating on the go, or more often than not missing meals altogether, was the normal for her when she had patients in her infirmary. In fact, it was only due to her current patients disturbingly compliant state that had allowed her the time to grab a quick sandwich in the first place.

She shut down the computer - which she didn't remember leaving on - washed her hands thoroughly and, mentally preparing herself for the argument she was in no doubt she was about to be face with, went into the infirmary to see if Leesia could be coaxed from Daniel's side long enough to get some lunch herself. She didn't hold much hope. Despite Leesia's fear, whenever Daniel ended up in the infirmary she was guaranteed to be stubbornly positioned by her husband's bedside.

However when she entered the infirmary, she was shocked to find it surprisingly absent of the expected technopath.

Pushing aside her surprise, she put on her game face. "Good afternoon, Gentlemen," she greeted warmly, her bedside manner never faltering despite their lack of participation. "Empty plates I see. Think that's a first for either of you. Keep this up and I might even allow some of those high calorie desserts you always want into my infirmary as a reward. Make a nice change from jello."

She kept up the small talk while she checked over each of their vitals and was just finishing up when Leesia came hurrying back in. Her arms spilling over with worn books, their battered state unmistakably labeling them as Daniel's.

"Little light reading?"

Leesia frowned down at her load, wondering how Janet had come to that assumption. "Actually they are rather heavy,"

Janet rolled her eyes. Over a year on Earth and still the former Ancient hadn't gotten the hang of all their phrases. "Sure you have enough there?"

Missing the sarcasm in the Doctor's tone, Leesia answered honestly, "No. There are many more that I will no doubt be in need of, however I was only able carry so many."

"This isn't really the place for heavy research." Janet scolded lightly, feeling a slight sense of deja vu. She'd had this argument with Daniel near enough every time he'd been recovering in the infirmary.

Leesia face fell, "I know. I just could not-"

"Stay away," Janet finished for her.

Leesia smiled guiltily, "Am I that transparent?"

Seeing the desperate need so clear on the other woman's face, Janet's scowl softened. She knew first hand how bad it was to feel helpless, she was feeling the same way. "Okay, fine. Just keep the amount to a minimum, I don't want my infirmary turned into a library."

"I promise." Leesia quickly swore, honestly grateful for Janet's understanding. For a scary moment there she was worried she would be forced to choose between trying to find answers and staying at his bedside. She honestly didn't know which she would have chosen. Both options were unacceptable. She couldn't leave his side for long, and she also couldn't just sit there knowing that there was a chance - however small- that the answers were there if she could only find them.

"And Daniel," Janet called over her shoulder, "don't think this is going to be the norm in future."

...

Jack wasn't happy. Not happy at all.

Not only was his best friend and leader of his flagship team currently out of commision with no telling for how long for, or if it was even possible to get them back, but now his girl, and the one who was most likely to find the answer to the safe removal of the problematic devices if there was one, was going off to confront the Replicator version (with the terrible timing) of herself. Things were going from bad to worse.

Of course with the Replicator threat now within their own Galaxy they couldn't sit ideally by and do nothing, but that didn't mean he was happy with the idea. Especially after Sam had explained that Fifth's choice of looks for his prodigy was most likely personal.

He didn't buy the Replicators story of wishing her own life ended. Nor her offer to help them create a weapon by which to destroy her. Even though the lure of a anti-replicator weapon was a great temptation, truthfully it was only Sam's insistence (and if he was completely honest with himself, the fact that Teal'c would be with her and would die before he let anything happen to her) that he had allowed her to go.

As soon as the gate to the Alpha site shut down behind them, Jack barked at Walter, "Contact Thor. Tell him what's happening... And try the damn Tok'ra again!" he added, angrily storming from the control room.

"Yes, sir." Harriman replied, quickly going to work. He knew better than to do hesitate when the General was in this mood.

...

"Pl - ease."

Leesia's head shot up from where she had been resting it alongside Daniel on the infirmary bed. Even twisted and strained she would know that voice anywhere.

"Daniel?" she gasped, quickly on her feet and not caring, or noticing that her lapful of books were sent scattering all over the floor of the infirmary. She locked her gaze onto him, trying not to blink for fear of missing the tiniest detail as she studied his face.

There was nothing. Daniel was silent as the grave. But she knew she had heard it, no matter how quiet or wavering his voice had been. This had been such a desperate plea, one that sounded like it be well suited followed by a tortured beg for mercy. It stabbed at her heart unbearably to hear him so pained.

Dropping his hand that she had held even in sleep, she cupped his hot face, staring closely into those insightful blue eyes, feeling his slight and constant trembling against her palms. "Come on, Daniel," she pleaded, "Tell me what you need."

He was a strained still. Wishing he could return her eye contact, she manoeuvred her face so he was looking more directly at her, before sweeping her thumb across the top of his lips to wipe away the sweat that was collecting in tiny droplets there. "You can do it," she whispered encouragingly, noticing the slight flex of his jaw against her hand. "Talk to me. Tell me what to do."

His trembling increased, dramatically. Panicked, she was about to call for Janet when his lips parted with a light intake of breath. She froze, focused entirely on his mouth as minutely his lips stammered out, "Dan…g-gerr-r-…ous."

"What is Daniel? What is dangerous?" she quickly asked.

Suddenly she dropped her tender hold on his face and keeping alert for any other sounds Daniel might make, dashed around his bed to its neighbour, where Colonel Mitchell lay just as still as his partner in this nightmare. Pushing the other mans bangs away from his forehead, she replaced the hair with her own hand, feeling careful the temperature and dryness of his skin. It was as she feared, although the infirmary was pleasantly warm it wasn't hot, and certainly not hot enough to cause the amount of perspiration that was collecting on Daniel's face.

There was something wrong with Daniel.

"Janet!" she cried out, rushing back to Daniel's side. The evident panic in her voice had the tiny Doctor dashing into her infirmary wondering what was going on and was along side the troubled and worried wife, in two seconds flat.

"What is it?" she asked, looking from one man to the other, searching for the source of the other woman's anxiety - and finding nothing different from how she had left them after their last checks a few minutes before.

"Daniel spoke." Leesia quickly stated, "And he is sweating and very hot to touch, yet Cam is not showing the same symptoms."

Janet moved speedily to Daniel's bedside, pulling out her trusty penlight. "What did he say?"

"He said... He said 'please'," Leesia told her, looking over the Doctor's shoulder worriedly as she examined her husband. She didn't know what Daniel had meant by 'dangerous -clearly a warning, but a warning of what? - Was it dangerous for him to try and speak? Is that why he was sweating so badly? Was it dangerous for them to try and remove the devices? If so they already knew that, Janet had told them all so right away, so there was nothing to gain from her repeating the message. She didn't want people jumping to conclusions and assuming he had meant that himself or Cameron were dangerous. They would be locked up straight away if that were to happen. Away from the medical attention they needed. Away from her. She couldn't bear that.

"Daniel? You with us?" Janet asked, pressing a thermometer into his ear. She was surprised to get only a slightly elevated reading, considering the profuse sweating that Leesia had mentioned. "Well, that's in the normal range. Nothing to worry about, but I'm going to get another full blood screen just to rule out a virus or infection." God only knew what conditions those damn devices had been implanted under. The Goa'uld had no respect for human life and probably cared even less about hygiene.

…

O'Neill dashed into the 'gateroom, and finding the Stargate already active and the iris open, threw a questioning glance up to Walter in the control room.

"Receiving Tok'ra IDC, sir." the airman replied, not needing to hear the question to know what the General was asking.

"It's about damn time." Jack griped as he recognised the welcome sight of Jacob Carter stepping through the wormhole and began his descent on the ramp. "We only sent word a week ago."

"Sorry, Jack. I tried to get back to you sooner, but as you know Ba'al's been making his presence known. This is the first chance I've had."

"Well, I guess better late than never. You're here now, so-"

"Actually I've come for your help. You see with Ba'al taking over all of Anubis's territories he's become a sizable threat to the system lords."

"Surely that's a good thing."

Jacob shook his head. "With Anubis's plans, technology and defences at his disposal, he could very well prove a unstoppable threat to this Galaxy. He's making more Kull's. What we can't work out is how. With very few breeding Queens and with Hathor, Egeria and the Queen Anubis was using all dead, where's he getting the infants from to create the Kull's."

"Well, I think we've found the answer to that riddle. It's why we contacted you. Daniel and Mitchell came back from Tararus with a little problem."

"You went back to Tararus?" Jacob question, quickly fixing him with a disbelieving glare.

Jack returned the look with one of his own. "If the Tok'ra kept us in the loop, maybe it wouldn't be necessary for us to have to find the answers for ourselves." he replied, leading Jacob from the Gateroom.

…

Leesia pulled the plastic bottle out of the locker she now shared with Daniel. She thought about it for a second then, changing her mind, replaced it and pulled out her own shampoo bottle instead. While at this moment in time she knew that using Daniel's shampoo to have his familiar scent wafting around her would be a great source of comfort to her, she knew the opposite would also be true and Daniel needed the comfort more than she did presently. So she took up her own orange blossom shampoo, that Daniel had once told her was his favourite, and sat in the centred bench and began stripping off for her much desired shower.

After she had fallen asleep during her studying for the third time Janet had finally had enough and ordered her to take a break. Telling her in no uncertain terms that she was not permitted to step foot back in the infirmary until she had eaten, rested and showered. There was no way she would be able to sleep so two out of three would have to suffice and Leesia knew that Janet wouldn't hold her to the demands. Not now Salmac had visited, taken a look at the devices and left, promising to return with someone more experienced at symbiote removal, things could start to move forward.

She stripped off her pants, folded them and place them in the locker and was just unbuttoning her shirt when an unexpected soft click from the door made her jump. Spinning round she found she was not as along as she had thought.

"Daniel?" she questioned softly.

He stood just inside the now locked door in his medical gown and stared silently for a long moment. His gaze spearing through her.

"Daniel?" she repeated, as he took a tentative step towards her. His shaking increased noticeable as he neared. The bright lights catching on the sweat of his face, making it glint.

"You should be in the infirmary." she said trying to keep her voice from breaking. There was something in his gaze that intimidated her like never before. It was a primal hunger that was focused entirely on her. Since the implant he had always stared through her, his eyes a little off focus. Now they zoned in on her like a laser beam, unwavering and hard.

Keeping his target firmly locked in his sights he continued to move towards her. Instinctually, she backed away raising her hands between them defensively. There was malice in his juddered movements as he closed the gap between them, looming over her. He snatched hold of her. His pinching grip biting into both her upper arms and preventing her from moving further away from him. She gasped out a startled pant and she felt fear set like a stone in her stomach, '_It is not Daniel. It is that thing controlling him ... The thing that only follows orders.'_

"Release me!" she demanded as strongly as her fear would allow.

His grip only increased in strength, his eyes boring into her with single-minded determination. His lips thinned to a severe line as he tipped her over backwards, slammed her hard onto the cold tiled locker room floor. His body covering hers, pinning her to the ground with his weight. His erection poking hard at her inner thigh. Demanding.

"Daniel, let go. No. Please. You are hur-" Leesia's speech hushly cut to a startled gargle as Daniel's forearm was pushed forcefully against her throat. She clawed at his skin as he leaned his weight down onto it, desperate to relieve the pressure and pain in her throat. His free hand snaking down between them. Fisting her panties he ripped them from her body.

...to be continued

* * *

A.N ~ Happy New Year!


	13. Chapter 13 Making Waves

Chapter 13 ~ Making Waves

Desperately needing to draw breath, Leesia curled her fingers, hocking them around Daniel's forearm and yanked, desperate to relieve the pressure brutally squeezing her throat.

But even adrenaline fueled her strength was no match for his. Terrified more than she could remember being ever in her life, she wanted to close her eyes against the image she was faced with. She didn't want to remember Daniel this way; choking her, hurting her, abusing her. But fright stopped her eyes from closing, so she was forced helplessly to watch in wide eyed horror.

His touch was harsh, cruel, insistent, unlike any of Daniel's touches before, as he forced his way between her unprotected thighs. Their shared tingles, once a source of much comfort and warmth, were now overpowering, invasive, but it was his eyes that scared her the most, making her blood run cold and her heart beat uncomfortably hard. Gone was the compassion, love and warmth she usually saw swimming in those twin blue pools. These eye were hollow, empty, dead.

Then something else flashed across his features … a flicker of … remorse? Pleading? It lasted less than a fraction of a second, but she was sure she saw it.

That was her Daniel. Trapped inside his own mind, watching himself acting like this, unable to shift the outcome. Imprisoned by that device.

Device! It was nothing but technology. This wasn't a Goa'uld symbiote in his head, it was a machine…but it was still attached to his brain and spine. What effect it would have on Daniel she didn't know, only that she doubted it would be a pleasant experience.

"I am sorry," she whispered soundlessly, not to the being that was currently forcing himself onto her, fumbling uncoordinatedly between her struggling, naked thighs, but to her husband, trapped, fearful, desperate and just as unwilling as she was. She screwed her eyes shut and let loose everything she had.

The effect her ability had was instantaneous. Daniel collapsed to the side, his mouth wrenched open in a silent scream.

"Daniel?" Leesia was up hovering over him worriedly and adamantly ignoring the pain in her own throat.

"Don't stop," he gasped out.

"I am hurting you."

"Don't stop!"

"But Daniel -"

"Please, Lees," he interrupted, turning desperate blue eyes up to her, silently pleading with her. "Listen." he spoke quickly, grunting with pain and exertion. "Whatever the plan, get it out. You hear me? First chance you get. Until then you lock me up. I'm not safe around you. You understand?"

Quickly, she nodded, tears of sorrow spilling down her cheeks. She hated seeing him like this, tendons on his neck strained, eyes wide and leaking, body tensed. He was trying, and not managing, to mask exactly how much pain she was putting him through.

"Say it!"

"Lock you up until we can get it out."

As the words left her lips, Daniel's face softened slightly in relief. "Good. Now run."

"Daniel?"

"I said, run!" he growled out through clenched teeth.

Tears dripped as she nodded. She didn't want to leave. Not while he was talking, while he was 'Daniel' and not while he was hurting. It was only the knowledge that it was her that was causing his pain that let her move away from him.

"Lees?"

She paused at the doorway, turning back to face him in confusion. What could be so important that he would be willing to suffer for longer for?

"Clothes," he insisted.

She rolled her eyes in disbelief, but moved back over to him and covered him back over with his gown anyway. Then she grabbed her own clothes out of the locker and speedily yanked them on. Human's were crazy with their stupid modest ways.

…

Arms folded, Leesia watched in silent protest as the thick heavy leather restraints were fitted to Daniel and Cam's infirmary beds and then onto the men themselves. Binding them tightly by the wrist and ankle, it was only due to the devices location that they weren't strapped up by the neck as well. This is what she hadn't wanted. It was bad enough for them being trapped within their own bodies without those bodies being bound as well.

A hand gently rubbed her back, but unwilling to take her eyes off her husband it wasn't until he spoke that she realized that the hand belonged to Jack. "I know you don't like it, Leesia, but it's for everyone's safety. Especially yours."

"It is not his fault. He tried to warn me," she said in near whisper.

"I know. You should've told us." Jack replied, trying hard not to sound condescending. Judging by the tight set of her shoulders and her mournful expression, she was feeling bad enough without him making her feel worse.

Leesia nodded sadly in agreement. Jack was right, she should have passed along Daniel's message to the others. If she had she wouldn't now forever hold the memory of being nearly raped by her husband. A memory that Daniel would also hold and no doubt put himself through unnecessary and pointless guilt from for a long time to come. But the blame was hers, and hers alone, she had made the mistake.

"I should have... But the mind and the heart rarely agree, Jack." she said softly, in explanation.

"I know, I know," Jack nodded along. He really didn't want to be hard on her right now, but as General he couldn't let shit like this slide. "But working here, being a member of this team, you don't have the privilege of making that call."

"Then you should fire me," Leesia told him, giving him a brief, hard look out of the corner of her eye before returning her gaze back to her now fully restrained husband. "Because I'm his wife first and a member of SG-1 second. No matter what is at stake, I will alway put Daniel first... _Every _time."

"Oh for crying out loud, Leesia, it's not like this was a life or death decision here. This was passing on a message. A message that, may I remind you, must have been extremely difficult for him to get through in the first place."

"If I had, you would have locked him up, or restrained him?"

"Probably."

"I suspected, and that is why I held my silence. I did not wish this for him," she told him, gesturing over to the bound men, as if Jack needed a visual aid. "Daniel will always put others first, no matter what the cost to himself... It makes caring for him extremely irksome sometimes," she added in a disgruntled manner.

Jack tried to hide his grin and clenched his jaw to stop from laughing. Irritation was not a look that suited Leesia. It just made her look like she was a toddler who was about to throw her toys out of the crib in a tantrum or stamp her feet in protest. But he understood what she meant. Being Daniel's team leader for many years he knew first hand how his friends self sacrificing nature could be more than a little problematic at times. "I hear ya there, Sparky. Thing is though, he's usually worth listening to."

"Yes he is," Leesia quickly agree. "And I believe now that my silence has pained him more so than any restraints ever could."

Jack puffed out an awkward breath loudly and rocked on the balls of his feet. "So, not that I'm not enjoying this little wrong turn down guilt trip lane, but I actually came to let you know the Tok'ra are back."

...

"This is Ta'seem," Jacob introduced, gesturing to the new Tok'ra who sat beside him, once everyone had taken their seats around the briefing room table. "One of our top surgeons when dealing with Goa'uld removal."

"Right, well the thing is it's not actually a-"

"There is no need to explain, General O'Neill," Ta'seem interrupted, holding his hand up to silence him. "Selmac has informed me of the situation."

"Great," Jack nodded, "And?"

"The removal procedure has been almost perfected over the years. Even with your mediocre medical tests I can clearly see that by comparison this operation should be relatively simple. It's attachment to the brain stem is practically identical to that of an actual goa'uld symbiote. However, unlike a symbiote there are no toxins that could kill the host, which reduces the risk considerably. I'd say Colonel Mitchell and Doctor Jackson's chances of coming out of this undamaged are very high."

To Jack, it sounded too good to be true, and that usually meant that it was. "Why do I feel like there's a 'but' coming?"

"You need to understand, General, that the devices are controlling them completely. Telling them when they eat, drink, blink…"

"This we know." Leesia nodded, getting irate with the Tok'ra's slow explanation.

"Unfortunately it's also controlling when they sleep… and drugs aren't going to change that."

Jack leaned in closer with a confused worried frown. "So what you're saying is… What are you saying?"

"That unless we can find a way to deactivate these devices, they would have to be awake during the removal."

Leesia let out a horrified gasp. Lying there, unable to move, unable to speak, while someone cut into you! Paralyzed so they could not defend themselves, muted so they could not plead with them to stop. That sounded more like a nightmare than something that could actually happen.

"Leesia managed to turn it off."

She was shocked out of her panicked thinking by Jack's voice, only to find every eye in the room had turned to her expectantly.

"You did?" Jacob asked, sounding more than a little surprised.

"Yeah, she's got this freaky machine mind control thing going on," Jack said flippantly, by means of an explanation, circling his hand to try and speed the conversation onwards. "She gave Daniel both barrels earlier and it shut the thing off. Isn't that right?"

Swallowing hard, Leesia shook her head. "It was only for a very brief time and it caused Daniel great pain."

Ta'seem nodded. "That does make sense. Technology this complex would need to include a reboot mechanism within. Most likely it's this firing in attempt to restart that causes the pain. If you can indeed prevent this from happening we would be able to sedate them."

"It was not easy," Leesia muttered nervously, feeling the pressure from everyone.

"But you could do it long enough to for the anaesthetic to kick in, right?" Jack asked "That would only take a couple of minutes max."

"I, uh, I - I have no idea," Leesia stammered. "I guess." A couple of minutes, that sounded possible. Hard to witness, yes. But possible.

"No, General you misunderstand. If this young woman can indeed halt the device's reactivation then she would need to do so until its removal. Otherwise it would simply re-start and make any means of sedation ineffective."

Leesia felt the eyes on her once again. "He spoke," she gasped out, hopefully. "Before, without my help. He managed to speak. He tried to warn me that they were dangerous. The devices can be overcome. You don't need me."

"He spoke while the device was active?"

"Yes." Leesia nodded eagerly.

Ta'seem shook his head. "That is not possible. You must have been seeing thing."

"I did not imagine it." Leesia said hotly.

"Of course not, but wishful thinking, perhaps. He is your husband is he not?"

…

With her hand covering her mouth in attempt to hold back the threatening sobs, Leesia fled from the briefing room. She dashed down the corridor, trying to get into the elevator and away from curious eyes before she lost control.

She felt alone. Completely and totally alone. No one understood. No one _could _understand. There was no other technopath that could relate to her. No one to understand that what was being asked of her was nothing short of impossible. And when she failed, as she was in no doubt she would…

She repeatedly jabbed at the elevator button, willing it to be quicker, before the tears started to fall.

...When she failed it would be Cam and Daniel that paid the price. The tears began just as the doors opened to the thankfully empty elevator.

"Leesia!" Jack called after her, jogging to catch up and just managed to slip inside before the doors slid closed.

"I cannot do what you ask of me, Jack." she sniffed, knowing what he was about to say. She didn't need a pep talk. It was impossible. Confidence had nothing to do with it.

"You can," Jack insisted. She had to.

"I cannot. To prevent its reactivation for a few minutes until the anaesthetic takes effect, that would be hard enough... But for the whole operation. Both of them…" She shook her head.

"Look," Jack said, softening his voice, turning her to face him and giving both her quivering shoulders an affectionate squeeze, "why don't you get some rest. Recharge the old batteries. The operations aren't scheduled 'til first thing in the morning. You'll feel better after a good nights sleep."

"Jack." Leesia began, desperately. She couldn't do what he was asking. Why could no one understand that.

"Leesia, I've seen you wipe out an entire fleet of death gliders weaponry-"

"It was not the entire fleet."

"I've seen you single-handedly start up the Stargate. While it was powered down. Off-line!"

"That was an exceptional circumstance."

"So is this." Jack said adamantly. He knew the strength of her abilities had a direct link to her emotional state at the time, he'd seen it for himself on numerous occasion, but there had been other times. As far as he could see there was no reason why she couldn't do this. "Three times you've restarted Osiris's ship. The whole damn ship Leesia! Compared to that two tiny robot Goa'ulds should be child's play."

"Jack, it is not as simple as that. I wish it were. All of those times were short burst, during extreme moments."

"Right," Jack agreed. "And it doesn't get more extreme than this. You can do this Leesia, I know you can."

"You are putting far too much faith in my ability."

"You have to at least try... What happened to choosing Daniel at all costs?"

Thrown off by his sudden change of tactics Leesia gapped speechlessly. "You don't understand," she whined pitifully.

"Yeah, I get that alot."

"It is not that I am unwilling to try, but that I am unable to do that which is impossible. There has to be another way. I... I need Sam."

"She's still at the Alpha site," Jack told her, thinking it over for a second. She wouldn't have long, but he could delay the operations. They may be un-armoured, but they were 'Kulls' nonetheless and Kulls had a limited lifespan. "Gear up. You've got 'til oh six-hundred hours."

...

"_The link is weak. Are you alright?" "Yes. I'm minimising output to avoid detection." "Have you acquired the information?" "There is nothing here. The humans of this world are vastly inferior to other worlds we have consumed." "Do not underestimate them. They can be unpredictable." "I have been within her mind. The weapon they have is depleted. They are no threat to us." "I am pleased."_

"Incoming wormhole."

Replicarter halted the connection at the announcement. Seeing through the lens of the surveillance cameras the humans had conveniently placed around their secondary base of operation, she watched a petite brunette female emerge through the stargate. Static jumped through the feed.

"_Wait. This is something. Intriguing." "I agree."_

...

With the scalpel hovered over the back of the humans neck, Ta'seem paused. He had performed this operation so many times he had lost count, but never on a mechanical symbiote and never on a conscious patient. He moved around the bed until he was in the patients sight. "I apologize Colonel Mitchell," he told him sympathetically. "If there was another way, know that we would do it. This is the only way. I will work as quickly as I can."

Getting back into his original position, Ta'seem readied himself. "Initiating the first incision."

"STOP!"

Up above them the wife of Doctor Jackson was banging on the viewing window, her voice muffled through the glass.

...

"You sure this will work?" Jack asked, eyeing up the device Leesia had brought down from Sam's lab. He had only understood about half - okay maybe more like a quarter- of Sam's plan that Leesia had repeated back to them all. From what he could grasp, Sam had discovered pretty early on that Leesia ability could act similar to an EM pulse wave. So, as Leesia had some serious doubts that her ability would hold out as long as would be needed, why not simply use an elecro magnet. Leesia could focus the blast wave and hopefully knock out the robot snakes and the reboot.

Leesia smiled knowingly, "When has Sam ever been wrong?"

"Good enough for me," Jack said clapping his hands together. "Well, let's get this show on the road. Don't keep a good man waiting."

...

Briefing done and logs filed, Jack made his way to the observation room for the theatre. Sam and Teal'c had returned a little over an hour ago, unfortunately with the news that the human form Replicator had escaped, but he guessed it could have come off worse. So, with two of his 'kids' back safe, two more in Janet and the Tok'ra's care, it was time to check on the final member, who, unsurprisingly, had been on constant vigil since her return.

"How's he doing?" he asked, pulling a chair up beside a sleepy looking Leesia.

After giving him a small smile in greeting, Leesia's eyes turned back to the scene below them. Ta'seem lent over the operating table, working away, while Janet watched his every move, every incision with a doctor's curiously and a friends concern. Daniel was peacefully immobile, bound on his side as a precaution, just as Cameron had been before him.

"I cannot tell. But judging by the length of time Cameron's operation took I expect it to be nearly over."

"How is Mitchell?"

"They moved him to the infirmary to recover. As far as I know he is still asleep."

"Maybe you should follow his example," Jack suggested seriously. "When was the last time you slept?"

"I um..." Leesia paused, thinking. "... I have lost track."

"That's what I thought. Look I got this. Why don't you take one of the -"

The rest of Jack's speech was cut off by an alarm sounding below, accompanied by raised panicked voices;

"Respiration rates fallen."

"Pulse is erratic."

The theatre below them had turned into a swarm of organised chaos. "It's active. It's closing off his trachea."

"Hold him still."

"Get down there. Now!" Jack bellowed to Leesia, stood next to him near frozen in shock.

She didn't need to be told twice. Taking off at a sprint she arrived in the operating room seconds later, barely noticing anything around her, her eyes seeing only Daniel trembling fiercely on the bed his mouth agape, eyes wide, tendons raised, lips blueing, desperately trying to draw breath. She didn't even try for the EM machine, sending out her own wave instantly.

Daniel gasped. Sucking in air like he was trying to draw all the oxygen out of the room in one breath, his frightened eyes darting about taking in the scene around him.

"Try to hold still doctor Jackson," the Tok'ra insisted, as he placed a restraining hand on his patients shoulder as he tried to reach for his wife.

"Lees?"

"I'm here," she replied soothingly, quickly taking his straining bound hand tightly in both of hers and holding it tightly. "I am right here."

He sighed out a relieved sigh. His eyes softly closing as his grip on her hand went lax.

"Daniel?"

"It's alright, Leesia," Janet quickly reassured her. "It's just the effect of the anaesthetic kicking back in. He's fine."

Nodding her relieved understanding, Leesia turned to Ta'seem, "Please work as efficiently as you can. I do not know how long I can keep this up."

...

Waking was exhausting. Not the usual post anaesthetic tiredness that he was almost accustomed too, no, this was a whole-body-weighed-down-with-leed weariness. Thankfully, although it was a strain, Daniel was able to move, which told him the operation had been a success. He was free.

He lightly clenched his fist, searching for the expected smaller one in his grip. Disappointingly, but sadly not surprisingly, Daniel found his hand empty.

Although that did support his theory, it also worried him. Leesia had never left him alone in the infirmary before. He didn't blame her, to be honest he was surprised she had come at all.

"Hey," Sam said softly, noticing Daniel was awake. "We were getting worried about you. You've been out for hours. How you feeling?"

"I've been better." he admitted groggily. God, he ached. Even talking was a chore.

"Yeah, know that feeling."

"So what made your day so awful?"

"Replicator evil twin."

"Yeah, that would do it… Dead?"

"Escaped."

"Ah,"

"I'm gonna get Janet, let her know you're awake."

"'Kay," Daniel sighed, his eyes closing again. God, he ached.

...

"Where's Leesia?"

The familiar sound of her name, spoken out from that gentle voice, still a little croaky from sleep, but still recognizable more than any other sound in her world, woke her. It was good to hear it normal and not twisted in pain and effort again. He was free. They had done it.

Smiling to herself, she opened her eyes. She was laying on an infirmary bed, the curtains pulled around her, blocking her view of the rest of the room.

"She's just there." She heard Janet's voice answered him from the other side of the curtain.

"Is she okay?" Daniel asked worriedly.

"She's fine." Janet was quick to reassure. "The strain of keeping you sedated proved too much for her in the end and she passed out. After a good rest she'll be right as rain."

As soon as she heard the 'clip clip clip' of Janet's heals disappearing, she pulled back the curtain. Stunned to find Daniel sitting on the edge of the infirmary bed buttoning his shirt.

She folded her arms disapprovingly. "Daniel?"

"Leesia?" he returned, frowning. "You okay?"

"Yes. What are you doing?"

Glancing down at himself briefly, he replied, "getting dressed," as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Do you really think that is wise?"

"Yeah, I do. Those gowns don't cover my butt."

"You should not be up," she insisted. "You had an operation only hours ago."

"Leesia?"

"-Now get back into bed, before I have to go and fetch Janet."

"Leesia."

"No arguing, Daniel. For once you are going to do as you are told regarding your health."

"Lees?" Daniel tried again, raising his voice slightly.

"What?"

"The Tok'ra had a healing device," he told her, turning his head and running his hand over the back of his neck, to prove to her that it was smooth and scar free. "Patched me up good as new before they left. Janet's already given me a clean bill of heath and released me."

"Oh."

"Unless..." He took a steadying breath and met her eyes. "Unless there's another reason you'd rather I stayed here?"

"No, I-"

"Because I wouldn't blame you. After what I - what would've happened, if you hadn't stopped me. I-"

"Daniel, Daniel, it is all right, I understand."

"You do?" he questioned doubtfully. It hadn't escaped his notice that she hadn't come any closer to him. Whereas normally she would be cupping his cheek, or tenderly touching his arm, or maybe holding his hand by now, instead she kept her distance and kept her hands to herself.

"Yes. Your desires have been so heightened of late it is really no wonder that they had an influence. But you cannot be blamed for that anymore then you can for your need to eat."

Daniel hung his head. That was what she believed. That it was his own fierce desire for his wife that had turned him into an animal.

"I understand," she repeated. "It is not your fault."

'_No you don't and yes it is,_' he thought, but he kept quiet. She was better off believing it as she did. There was enough for her to be trying to cope with without the truth on top of it all.

"I need to shower. I'll leave you to dress." She told him, and before he could even reply she was gone. Leaving him alone with a guilty pain spearing his heart.

He had expected this. Expected her to be skittish around him, but it still stung to see her so obviously scared of him.

"Didn't tell her huh?"

Daniel looked up, surprised to see Mitchell, who stood in the doorway wearing his civvies and a judgmental look. He hadn't realised that he and Leesia hadn't been alone during their discussion.

Daniel bent to retrieve his boots and avoid Cam's knowing eyes. "I couldn't. Besides, this is for the best. If she knew the truth it would only lead to more questions." Questions which she would not want to know the answers for.

Cam shook his head firmly. "You honestly believe that? You honestly believe that she's better off thinking that it was your subconscious that made you try to rape her?"

"Yes," Daniel replied firmly.

"Alright," Cam said, holding his hands up in defeat, "But, you know, she's gonna find out eventually."

"Not if I can help it," Daniel said. Leesia had deliberately forgotten all about her past and had asked Daniel to honor that decision. He intended to keep that promise as long as possible. Telling her the truth now without revealing her connection to Anubis would be near impossible - A half truth at best. Better to keep quiet...for now at least.

Seeing he was fighting a losing battle, Cam jerked his thumb over his shoulder, "Well, I'm gonna go run. Wanna join me?"

"Is that really a good idea?" Daniel questioned. Sure the Tok'ra had patched them both up good as new, but still going for a run, less than an hour from coming to after a major operation, seemed over the top.

"Best idea I got," Mitchell replied with a shrug and a grin. A fortnight stuck on board that ship was enough to give him itchy feet without being stuck inside his own head on top of it. Yeah, a run was definitely needed to burn off all this excess energy. "Coming?"

"Maybe later," Daniel said. Right now he needed to speak to Jack. Maybe there was a way for his and Mitchell full report to be kept private.

He finished lacing his boots and left just after Cam, marching briskly to Jack's office. Happily surprised to find General Hammond in Jack's chair

"Doctor Jackson. Nice to see you again." the older man greeted warmly.

"Likewise; we miss you around here, sir," Daniel said. Ignoring the glare Jack gave him, he continued. "So, to what do we owe this pleasure?"

"I came to ask if you'd be interested in joining the mission to Atlantis."

"You did?"

"Yes. You're the most qualified person on this planet, and the mission commander needs someone who can translate Ancient."

"With all due respect sir, I think you should tell the mission commander that I need Daniel right here." Jack said.

"You just did." George told him.

"I did. I did? ... You, sir?" Jack asked sounding surprised.

"Yes. Request denied. Doctor Jackson, you're with me."

"Sir," Jack said, halting Hammonds attempt to leave. "I don't know if you're up to speed on what's been going on 'round her of late, but I don't think Daniel should-"

"It's alright, Jack," Daniel interrupted him before he could get any further. If they needed someone to translate Ancient there was only two viable candidates and he didn't want Leesia going. After what had happened she needed to be with people who cared about her. She needed to be here, not on a ship full of people she barely knew. Besides, time apart was probably exactly what she needed right now. It would give her space and time to get her head around what happen - nearly happened, and decided what she needed, without him getting in her way, influencing her.

"I'll go. When do we leave?"

* * *

A.N ~ Sorry about the really long delay, having muse related problems lately. Please review, that tends to help :) Hope you enjoyed


	14. Chapter 14 Recall

**Chapter 14 ~ Recall**

SG-1, minus their currently Atlantis bound Archaeologist, trudged through the lush green woodland of the new alien planet, heading South in the direction the MALP had show signs of civilisation. Despite the dense vegetation, the slight downhill decline and the gentle heat made it a pleasant hike.

After a few silent minutes walk, Sam slowed her steps slightly to match those of the shorter woman's smaller strides and casually fell in alongside.

"So, are you alright?" she asked, keeping her concern filled tone hushed so not to be overhead by the other two. Leesia had never been an overly private person, but Sam didn't want to assume.

After Daniel's sudden departure, and what had happened in the locker rooms between the couple, Sam had taken it upon herself to keep an eye on her friend. She knew it would be hard for the former Ancient, but, surprisingly for the first couple of weeks after the incident, Leesia had remained her usual cheery self... That was until this morning when she checked in for the briefing. There it became instantly clear to everyone in the room that Leesia's lightheartedness was suddenly as absent as her husband. With a couple of miles hike ahead of then Sam took her chance to give Leesia the opportunity to talk it out.

"Honestly?" Leesia said, with a sad lopsided smile, "I have no idea."

"Wanna talk about it?" she offered. "It might help."

"I wouldn't know where to begin."

"Is it what happened with Daniel?" Sam asked gently.

"Oh, no. I had, um, rather a bad night and I just wish he was back already."

"Or that he hadn't gone?" Sam offered, peeking at the other woman out of the corner of her eye.

"No," Leesia disagreed. "For Daniel the lure of Atlantis is too great. I would not want him to miss the opportunity."

"Maybe you should've gone with him," Sam continued her gentle pushing, urging Leesia to open up. She didn't really want to pry, quite frankly it was none of her business, and she had no intention of making it her business, but Leesia was never this tight lipped, about anything, and it worried her.

"I could have. He gave me the option to before he left, but I agreed with him at the time that we both needed some space. Now I wish I had." She fell silent, with a sad shake of her head.

"How come?"

Leesia took a shaky breath before flashing a small guilty looking smile. "Sorry, I am just being silly I'm sure. It was a nightmare. That's all it was, just a nightmare. It's just... it was so, so vivid."

"Well if it's dream interpretation you're after than Teal'c is your guy. He's developed quite a fascination since he -." Seeing Teal'c had suddenly come to an abrupt halt just ahead of them, with his fist raised in the air, Sam cut off.

"What is it?" Mitchell called to the Jaffa in a raised whisper, his weapon following his weary gaze around the forest, searching for what had Teal'c on alert. Unless the Ents were going to war he stumped as to what the problem was.

"Listen," came Teal'c simple reply.

All three strained their ears, listening hard. At first there was nothing but the rustling of leaves and distant bird calls and then they heard it: A whining high pitched grinding that was increasing in volume and was unmistakably eerily familiar.

"Is that what I think it is?"

...

At the sound of the alarm wailing through the SGC, Jack descended the stairs and dashed into the control room.

"Receiving IDC, Sir," The technicon informed him, before the General got the chance to ask, "It's SG-1."

"Open the iris," Jack barked. SG-1 had only left a short while ago, and were not due to check in for hours. Whatever was going on it couldn't be good. "Defence team, stand by."

The second the iris slid open Sam emerged at a run. "Close it as soon as we're through," she shouted up to them, as Cam came through, with Leesia alongside. He sprinted down the ramp, immediately spinning back towards the Stargate, his P-90 drawn and aimed low.

Lastly, Teal'c backed through the gate, loudly followed by the rapping of his duel P-90's still firing as he stepped backwards down the ramp.

"Shut it down!" Sam shouted over the gunfire. Almost immediately the iris slid closed and two loud thuds echoed through the 'Gateroom before the wormhole disengaged.

"What the hell happened?" O'Neill asked as he strode briskly into the room, his arms wide.

"Replicators, sir," Cam explained, panting. "The whole place is swarming with them. They came right at us."

"Unprovoked?" Jack questioned, his brow low. That wasn't Replicator behaviour in his experience.

"Replicators are attracted to burst of energy. It's possible that when we activated the Stargate they picked up on it and that's what caused their behaviour," Sam said.

"Leesia took a stumble on the dash back to the gate." Mitchell continued his report of the shockingly short mission. "They closed in, surrounded us. Thought we weren't going to make it, but then for no reason, they just froze."

"No obvious reason," Sam jumped in, giving Leesia a knowing look. The others followed her gaze.

"You?" Jack asked, pointing to the aforementioned woman, who was looking just as surprised as he was.

"I have no idea how I did it," Leesia confessed nervously, gaping at the others as all eyes turned to her.

"It only lasted for a couple of seconds, but it was long enough for us to get the hell outta there." Mitchell continued.

"Way to go, Sparky," O'Neill grinned, giving her a congratulatory slap on her arm.

**...**

Later the following night Daniel pushed open the front door and paused to listen. The house was dark and silent, telling him that Leesia must have already gone to bed. Disappointed, but not really surprised considering the late hour, Daniel slipped off his shoulder bag, placing it by the wall and hung up his jacket.

He had missed her terribly and his worry had been nearly constant the entire time he was away. He wanted to speak with her before going to sleep, but he would settle for cuddling up with her instead. It had been too long since they had shared a bed. As much as he had been looking forward to seeing Atlantis for the first time, part of him was grateful that the trip hadn't gone to plan. It meant he was back with her all the sooner.

Keeping as quiet as he could, he gently dropped his keys onto the sideboard as slowly as possible so not to jiggle them and disturb the silence and tiptoed down the hall to the bedroom.

What little moonlight that managed to evade their thick drapes highlighted the gentle curves of his slumbering wife, curled up on her side, facing the middle of their bed, her face nuzzled into his pillow. It was a sight for sore eyes and he smiled to himself before quietly, slipping inside and softly pushing the door closed behind him. Checking he hadn't woken her, Daniel toed off his boots and was silently storing them inside the closet when the light flashed on.

Busted.

His smile widened and he turned to find a pair of curious chocolate brown eyes watching him. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," he whispered as he unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it into the hamper.

"I did not expect you home so soon," she said sleepily, tucking her feet up so Daniel could perch on the edge of the bed and take off his pants.

Daniel couldn't help but notice that she didn't look, or sound, entirely too happy to see him. There was a sad weariness in her gaze that cut to the bone. He had hoped that the time apart would have eased her discomfort somewhat, but he was back a lot sooner than expected.

"It didn't exactly go as planned," Daniel admitted, wondering if perhaps he should have stayed on base, for tonight at least. Creeping in at the dead of night, sneaking into the bedroom, when she wasn't expecting him couldn't be the most reassuring of reunions for her. He was just so tired, beat up, and was so eager to see her that he hadn't thoroughly considered the very real possibility that she wouldn't feel the same.

"What happened?"

"A space pirate hijacked the ship and she took me along for the ride," he grumbled lightly in explanation.

Leesia tilted her head, lowering a single eyebrow in disbelief. "She?"

"Yeah," Daniel told her awkwardly, not wanting to get onto that subject. Absently, he laid his hand on her hip. She flinched and he quickly snapped his hand away.

"Anyway," he continued quickly, "long story short, Prometheus took some hull damage so we were forced to turn back."

"You never made it to Atlantis?"

Daniel shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I know how much you wanted to go," she said sympathetically.

"There'll be another chance. Hopefully one with better timing," he replied pointedly, looking at her closely to gage her reaction. She avoided his eyes and remained silent. "Are you mad with me?"

"Because you know I had to, right?" he continued speedily, not giving her chance to reply. "They needed someone to translate Ancient. So, one of us had to go. After what happened I figured it would be better if that were me. Give you some time and-"

"-So you weren't just running?" she asked, looking up at him accusingly.

"What?" Daniel's frown depth increased. "No. God, no. I... Is that what you thought I was doing? No, no, I wasn't I swear. I thought it was for the best. I didn't want to leave you, but I wanted to give you some space... Was I wrong?"

"I am not mad with you," she said softly, her attention dropping to the space between them.

"You're not?" he questioned doubtfully, noting that she hadn't really answered his question. He expected her to be mad at him. Hell, he deserved it. Hoped for it even. Anger was better than the fear he was picking up from her at the moment.

"No."

"Because you have every right to be."

"I'm not."

"'Kay," he sighed in disappointment. If she didn't want to talk he wasn't going to force her. The time apart wasn't long enough, he knew that now. She needed more time. Time to come to term with what happened - nearly happened, would have happened, if she hadn't stopped him - What she didn't need was him bothering her and making her feel guilty that she didn't feel better.

"I'm gonna sleep in the den," he said, snagging up his pillow and trying not to sound like he was feeling sorry for himself.

"I understand," she sighed out sadly, watching him leave.

That was not the response Daniel had expected, not really. It was not that he wanted her to beg him to stay, but would some small level of reassurance be too much to ask for? All he really wanted was to know that they would be alright. A hug, a kiss, a smile even. Just some small sign that they would get through this.

"Goodnight," he said quietly, headed out. Part of him wanted to break down and confess. Tell her the full truth, that it had nothing to do with his desires, subconscious or otherwise that had triggered-

"Masa ul kheir."

Her words froze him on the spot. Ancient Egyptian. She had learned another language while he was away? And not just any language, one that was close to his heart. One close to the first language he had learnt, that he had grown up speaking as often, if not more so, than english in his early childhood. The closest to Abydonian, of which he was the only remaining speaker alive.

He slowly spun to face her and she watched the emotions play across his features: Stun, amazement, love, moved to the point where she was sure tears would be forming soon, if they weren't already. She couldn't tell in the dim lighting.

"Masa ul kheir, Habibi." he whispered back, smiling. That simple phrase, returning his 'Goodnight' gave him hope. Hope that they could get past this, together. It may take time, but she was still here, still his. She still loved him, even after... "Hulw hulum." he told her as he left, softly closing the door behind him. He headed for the den.

Inside he found how she had learnt. Every book he owned on Ancient Egypt (including some he was sure had been in his lab at the SGC) was lying open on his desk. Still beaming a touched smile, he grazed his hand over the books. He couldn't believe that she had done that for him. Especially after everything. Hearing those words come from her mouth, in the language that was almost native to him-

Suddenly, his heart skipped a fearful beat.

It was also her native language. More from her past than Ancient. He swallowed, hard. She couldn't have remembered! She couldn't know. Could she?

Panicking, he speedily scanned over the books, eyeing the ones that were left open, scared of what he would find. He only had to push aside two books before an image of Kebechet confirmed his fear.

"Shit," he said to himself, his hand flying to cover his mouth. Then he paused. Had she had long enough to learn another language _and _read through all this? ... He rolled his eyes at himself. What was he thinking? This was Leesia, of course she had.

But had she remembered? Did she know? Her closed off manner could be a result of the near rape, or because of him leaving, it might not have anything to do with her past... But that sad fearful look in her eye...

There was only one way to know for sure.

Speedily he headed back, coming to a halt barely inside the door he looked at her with a worriedly questioning gaze. She returned his gaze with a sad one of her own.

"You know?" he asked, though it wasn't really a question, he already knew the answer, he could see it in her eyes.

"I know," she confirmed.

"How much?"

"I am not sure," she answered honestly. "Enough. I started researching to help you both. The more I researched the more familiar it seemed, until I could not deny the similarities any longer. That was when the nightmares started... It was last night that the memories came back."

"Christ," Daniel sighed out to the floor, then found her sad eyes with his own, "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to find out like that."

"You did not wish for me to find out at all."

"No," he admitted freely, "I didn't."

"Is that why you lied?"

"I never lied," he said firmly. Kept her past from her at her request and allow her to believe a mistruth that she had constructed herself about the near rape, yes, but he was not guilty of lying to her. No lie had passed his lips, not one.

"No. It was I that made assumptions based on what facts I had to go on at the time. But you knew the truth and you covered it."

"You asked me to," he reminded her defensively.

"I did," Leesia agreed, "but only as long as it did not pain you to do so. That has not always been the case, has it?" Seeing Daniel's mournfully guilty and somewhat confused look, Leesia continued, "I didn't want to believe what I remembered, so I started looking for proof. I found that all mission reports regarding Tartarus has been restricted from me, on your request. I could have probably bypassed the command, but I thought it best to give you the chance to explain."

"Lees, I-" he stammered, only to be interrupted.

"-I know you were trying to protect me, and I am grateful for that, but it is time for the truth now."

Daniel nodded in reluctant agreement. As much as he had been happy to keep the truth from her at her request and for her own good, to finally lift the weight of keeping the secret off his shoulders would be an immense relief.

"What happened on that last mission that has been kept from me?" she prompted.

Daniel sighed heavily. Where to start? Most of the story she knew already. Best to start at the beginning, he guessed rather than trying to fill in the blanks.

He perched himself on the edge of the bed and watched his interlocked fingers while he began his tale. "As you know, Cam and I were taken from the cell seconds after you were. We were taken to a separate room, the one you found us in." Leesia nodded along in understanding. He decided to skip over the gory details of their implantation and got straight to the heart of the story. "As soon as the devices were in and activated we couldn't do anything without being ordered too. The first order we were given prevented us from speaking to anyone other than Ba'al..."

_"From now on you will speak only with me."_

_"Yes, my Lord," the two mentally bound men echoed each other. _

_"You will obey any order given to you, unless it is in direct contradiction of one I have given."_

_"Yes, my Lord."_

_Smiling a sick, gleeful grin, the Goa'uld turned to face Daniel, addressing him individually for the first time. "Kebechet is your mate?"_

_"She is my wife, my Lord."_

_"She bore you a son?"_

_"Yes, my Lord."_

_"Where is he now?"_

_"Dead, my Lord."_

_"You have fathered other offspring with her?"_

_"No, my Lord."_

_"Why?"_

_"She does not want more children, my Lord."_

_"Do you?"_

_"Yes, my Lord."_

_"Well, Daniel Jackson," the Goa'uld mocked, leaning over his captive closely, "never say that Ba'al is not a bestowing God..."_

"He allowed our escape, Lees," Daniel sighed out, the memories fresh in his mind. "He wanted it - he planned it. He knew what that hand device was the minute he saw it and so he knew we must have a ship. Did you not think it was a bit too easy to get us out?"

Leesia nodded, it was convenient that he left all their supplies in the room with her when she had been left alone and the lab had had a surprising lack of Jaffa or Kulls. "I didn't think about it at the time," she confessed, "I was too focused in getting out of there."

"By the time you and Sam found us we were already programed sleeper agents."

"Programed?" Leesia asked, her voice trembling slightly with the fear, already realising she wasn't going to like the answer. "To do what?"

"To get you pregnant... By whatever means necessary."

Leesia's sharp intake of breath sounded all the louder in the still room, even to her own ears. She had found out about Anubis' back up plan, and Ba'al himself had told her he had learnt details of their son, but she had never thought to put two and two together. She hadn't needed or thought to with everyone back and the trouble that ensued.

Her stun shifted to confusion and her head tilted fractionally to the side, "But that does not make sense. Why would have not just have kept us prisoner? Why did he allow our escape?

"Arrogance. Overconfidence," Daniel shrugged and shook his head. "In his head his plan would work, so why have the trouble of a pregnant woman's needs to tend to. The Kull's are just mindless warriors, so they couldn't be any help and he didn't have enough Jaffa to spare. It was simpler to let us return and give Cam the order to return with the baby once it was born."

"But that must means that... Oh, Daniel, I am so sorry."

He stunned statement more than confused him and he turned to her frowning.

"I assumed that what happened in the locker rooms was controlled by your desire, but it wasn't was it? You were following an order, it had nothing to do with you." she said, looking more than a little guilty.

"That's not strictly true." Daniel said reluctantly, his gaze locking on his fiddling fingers to avoid her eyes. "As soon as Cam and I had the opportunity to put phase one into action..."

_"I will be back soon," Leesia promised as she kissed Daniel's cheek. With one sad, loving glance over her shoulder, she left the infirmary. _

_They were alone, for the first time. Now was the time. _

_Stiffly Cam sat up and crossed to the cabinet on the wall at the far end of the room. He wrenched open the paneled door and pulled out all the depo shots within. _

_At the same time, Daniel rose robotically and let himself in to Janet's office, turned on her computer. It only took a few moments to power it up and find what he was looking for: Leesia's medical records..._

"...With the shots disposed of and your records amended, it would only be a matter of time before it would expire without anyone being the wiser. I wasn't able to remind you, Janet can't remember everyones and you never take note of when your next ones due, so the date would have gone by unnoticed," Daniel continued his story keeping his gaze fiercely locked on the space on the bed between them so he wouldn't have to look her in the eye. "I tried to warn you. Time was running out and I knew that if there was even the slightest threat, Jack would have to have us locked up and that would keep you safe, but-"

"-But I did not listen." she interrupted, again seeing where his speech was leading. "I should have, but I did not want to see you like that."

"I know," he sighed sympathetically. "It's not your fault, none of it. And to be honest I didn't expect it to work. But it did get me thinking. I shouldn't have been able to break Ba'al's order like that.

"You are extremely strong minded, Daniel. I am not surprised that you were able to overcome it."

Daniel stubbornly shook his head. "I am no stronger minded than Cam. If it were simply a battle of wills the device would win, hands down, no questions asked."

"Then how?"

"I think it was you. I mean, I think you gave me the strength to do it, literally. When you touched me, it was like your energies were charging me."

"Charging you?" Leesia repeated, a single eyebrow dipping skeptically.

"Maybe I'm not explaining this right," Daniel flapped, "but it made sense. I shouldn't have been able to talk to you, but I could, yet as soon as you stopped touching me... I just couldn't. No matter how hard I tried."

A questioning head tilt joined Leesia's sceptical expression. "But I held your hand almost the entire time you were in the infirmary, Daniel. If that were true then why did you not speak again?"

"Because speaking was a violation of a direct order. It left me feeling so - so weak. I knew that even with your help I would never be able to get the full warning out. So I started putting the energies to other use."

He took a deep breath and forced himself to continue. "I knew that if I waited for the order to kick in there was a very likely chance that you would get pregnant. Stopping it, or even stalling it would be impossible. It was going to happen. Then, even if they locked me up straight after, it could be too late. I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let you lose another baby. So I trigger the order early, while you would still be protected by your shots."

Eyes shockingly wide, Leesia backed away until her back hit the headboard. It was Daniel. It wasn't the device or a subconscious desire that had driven his actions as she has assumed, it was a deliberate decision that he had made. He had decided to do that to her - would have done to her if she hadn't stopped him.

"I'm not sorry, Lees," he continued, gentle but serious, with a slight shake of his head. "I'm sorry it happened, but not what I did. It wasn't the right thing to do, but there was no right in that situation. It was the lesser of two evils and I did it to protect you from something far worse. Getting over a rape isn't easy, but it doesn't compare to the pain of losing a child... Believe me." he finished, turning honest eyes on her, imploring her to do just that, believe him.

She just stared mutely, her soulfully wounded expression of pure shook cutting him straight in the heart.

"Lees?" he called softly when the silence stretched too long for him to stand, begging her to respond, to do anything other than stare at him in that shocked wide eyed, trace-like manner. He reached out to her when he saw her tremble, tears starting pooling in her eyes, but no sooner had his arms encircled her when she lashed out, screaming.

"Lees, Leesia, it's okay," he tried to sound soothing over the noise she was making, fighting to keep his hold on her as she thrashed in his arms.

...

"Thanks again for coming, I appreciate how late it is," Daniel said, pausing his pacing, as Janet finally came out of the bedroom with her overloaded Doctor's bag.

"Don't mention it," Janet told him, placing her burden down on the sideboard so she could accept the coffee mug, Daniel held out in offering.

"How is she?"

"I've had to give her a strong sedative to calm her down. I would have rathered to have her in the infirmary right now, but I think there would be a high chance of that triggering another anxiety attack, I don't want to risk that, so you'll have to keep an eye on her."

"Sure," Daniel agreed, nodding along. She was right, the last thing Leesia needed right now was another panic attack, especially straight after this one. It had been bad, worse then he remembered any of the others. Then again, it had been a long time since she had had one, and Janet had always been close at hand to treat her before. Unlike this time when he had had to call the doctor and then try, unsuccessfully, to calm Leesia himself while awaiting the her arrival.

Janet had arrived very quickly considering the late hour and the distance between their houses, but it had still seemed like the longest 20 minutes of Daniel's life. Leesia condition worsening every second, until Daniel was panicking that her pounding heart and difficulties drawing breath could prove to be fatal.

Taking a seat, Janet closely watched the clearly shaken man, wondering if she would have to give him something also. Considering the state she had found Leesia in when she arrive it was no surprise that Daniel looked more than a little worried. But now with her patient resting it was time to get some facts. "What happened?"

Following her lead, Daniel sat opposite, his own mug grasped firmly in both hands. "I hugged her..." he said, quickly hiding his face by sipping his hot beverage.

"And?"

"And she just lashed out, I tried to calm her down, but that only seemed to make things worse," Daniel offered in answer. In truth he didn't know what to tell her. He had expected... okay, he didn't know what he had expected, a reaction, yes, but certainly not the one he got.

"I'm sorry Daniel, but as her Doctor I'm very concerned. Her phobia of the infirmary she is getting under control. For the most part. You know I won't be able to give her the all clear for off-world travel if she's reacting like that for no reason,"

"I'm the reason," Daniel replied guiltily, straight away realising that his confession would lead to more question decided to tell her the full story. "She remembered," he sighed out, "what Anubis did to her before she ascended."

Janet nodded along, that certainly made more sense to her. "The return of repressed memories can often cause anxiety attacks."

"There's more," Daniel powered on, knowing he couldn't let the blame fall on her past. "She was upset when she was talking about her past, but it wasn't until we started talking about I did to her while under the control of Ba'al's device that she fell apart. It can't be a coincidence. I scared her. There's no other explanation."

"I can treat the physical symptoms, but the mental and the emotional effects, she's going to need help. I can arrange for her to see someone?"

"Thank you," Daniel said, nodding again in agreement. As much as he knew Leesia would not want to open up someone she would view as a stranger, he also knew that Janet spoke the truth. Leesia would need help. No one knew the scope of what she had gone through at the hands of Anubis, but to remember it all, only to be told straight after that her husband was personally responsible for her most recent attack while she was still reeling from the shock; it was too much. Quite frankly, Daniel was almost surprised she had held it together for as long as she did.

"I'll arrange it first thing in the morning," Janet promised, rising from her seat. "In the meantime, I'll leave you to it, but make sure to call me if you need anything,"

"I will. Thank you," Daniel swore, following the Doctor to the front door to see her out.

He took the mugs, still half filled, to the sink and paused leaning over it to gather his thoughts and take some needed deep breaths. It was far from the homecoming he had expected, but on the brightside, with the burden of keeping Leesia in the dark lifted he did feel...lighter, freer. He had kept the secret for so long, to finally have it laid bare was like a breath of fresh air. Never again would he have to panic and worry about her finding out, or mislead her. He had always known that whenever the truth came out would not be pleasant or easy on her, and this timing was far from the best, but it was finally out in the open. It would be hard, very hard on her, tonight proved that, but it was the first step in a long awaited trek and he would be with her throughout.

Hoping he was prepared for the what was to come he pushed off and headed for the bedroom.

As soon as he entered Leesia looked up at him with woosey eyes, fighting against the effects of the sedative and whispered mournfully, "I am so, so sorry."

"Hey, you have nothing to apologise for," he said, gently reassuring, slipping onto the bed beside her and rolling onto his side to face her.

"I do not know why that happened, Daniel."

"Just sleep," he said pulling the comforter up over her shoulder, "it'll all seem better in the morning."

She could barely keep her eyes open and even with only his slight gentle reassurance they dropped closed.

Daniel snuggled down, getting comfy. He watched her for a long while, making sure she was sleeping peacefully. When he was satisfied, he closed his eyes and for the first time since they had shared a bed together, he fell asleep without her in his arms.

...

A.N ~ Just have to say a huge THANK YOU to Dogmum213 for her patience, logic and honesty, without which this chapter (and the next couple) may never have happened.


	15. Chapter 15 Repression

**Chapter fifteen ~ Repression**

Jack exhaled loudly and snagging up a pen from the cluttered desks surface began absently twirling it around his fingers like a baton. His attention was on Daniel, who was pacing the lab, doing a good impression of being absorbed in his work. A good impression, yes, but that's just what it was, an impression, an act, nothing more. Jack knew that despite appearances, Daniel's thoughts weren't on finishing the report that he was currently pouting over, but were in fact somewhere on level 21 with his wife. He knew this because so were his own. The results of Leesia's psychiatric evaluation could mean the difference between him having a four or five man flagship team. Which given the timing could be bad, very bad, but for Daniel it meant so much more than the team being a member short.

Jack tapped the pen on the only small area of clear desk a few times, before jabbing it in the direction of the Archaeologist, who was now absently swigging coffee from Jack's mug that he had snatched up by mistake.

"You know, I never thought you'd trust McKenzie of all people," Jack questioned, deciding to go straight to the heart of the matter rather than pussyfooting around.

"There's not a lot of other options, Jack," came Daniel's reply, without looking up, wincing at the bitter taste - he was sure he had added sugar.

"What about Heightmeyer?"

"She went with the Atlantis expedition."

"She did?"

"Yes."

"Huh... How do you know that when I don't?"

"Maybe because I actually read the reports? Or maybe because I do my work, rather than bugging other people when they're trying to do theirs," Daniel snipped, his eyes still focused on the report before him.

"You haven't writing anything in the last twenty minutes," Jack pointed out, sulkily staring into his now empty mug that Daniel had deposited back on the desk in front of him.

"You're distracting me."

"You were already distracted," Jack countered, Daniel unable to deny it. "So, how do you think it's going down there?"

Daniel sighed, giving up on his work and, accepting the inevitable, dropped himself down opposite Jack.

"I have no idea. I'm sure McKenzie's a good psychiatrist, but he's got years of medical training working against him. He can't judge what we go through daily against regular conditions and he's got four thousand years of her repressed memories to contend with, some of which include severe torture at the hands of her father and on top of that a sexual assault which has caused anxiety attacks. I think any psychiatrist would be over their heads."

"So you don't think they'll be done anytime soo-" Jack cut off as the subject of their discussion stormed into the lab, a disgruntled look on her usually tranquil face.

"Lees?" Daniel questioned surprised to see her, checking his wrist watch. She was not due out of session for at least another half an hour. "What happened?"

"Doctor McKenzie is an obstinate simpleton," she said, slamming herself down beside Daniel and grumpily folding her arms across her chest.

Daniel caught his smug grin just in time to mask it. It was childish to be pleased that his wife disliked the man and he knew it, but damn it was satisfying.

"Why? What happened?"

"He said that I have Haphephobia." she told them moodily.

"Half phobia of what?" Jack questioned.

"Haphe, Jack, haphephobia," Daniel corrected automatically, "it means fear of touch."

"Yes," Leesia continued, "and he suggested that we hold off all physical contact until I fully understand the triggers the attacks and learn to cope with them."

"Right?" Daniel questioned with a single nod. This came as no surprise to him, he had been expecting something along those lines. Theirs was not a problem that would be solved overnight. It would take time and patience, and he for one, was in no rush to see her have another panic attack like she had had the night before. In fact at the peak of her attack, when her terror had made it difficult for her to even draw breath, he had been scared for her life, so much so that he was still shaken by the event. He would do whatever it took to not have a repeat occurrence.

"That is unacceptable," Leesia argued. "I do not wish to learn to cope with it, Daniel. I want these feelings gone! I do not want my body off limits to you, nor yours to me."

Daniel coughed, embarrassed in front of Jack, who he noticed was grinning mockingly. He kept his focus on his wife, to avoid further heat flooding his cheeks.

"We'll get there, it'll just take time," he said softly, making his words a promise.

Leesia signed, downhearted, sinking further down in her seat.

"He wants me to go back, repeatedly," she whined.

"I think you should. It may not seem like it to you, but he knows what he's talking about," Daniel told her, hoping she would believe him, even though he barely believe it himself. The simple fact of the matter was, that however much he may not like the man, there was no one else she could go to.

Seeking validation, she peered over to Jack, who readily nodding along in agreement to Daniel's argument. She signed for a second time, her eyes on her interlocked fingers resting in her lap while she thought. When she looked back up to Daniel her face was determined.

"No," she stated simply.

"Don't you think you're being slightly unreasonable? You've haven't given him much of a chance." Daniel said, keeping his tone gentle and soft and choosing his words carefully. He knew that look. They were one wrong worded phrase away from a blackout, and considering her present emotional state one that could quite possibly take out the entire SGC.

"No, I am being logical," Leesia replied bluntly. "I do not trust him, Daniel... and do not tell me I should, because it is abundantly clear that you do not trust him either," she rushed out before he could argue further.

"You sure you're not just picking up my distrust?"

"What difference does that make?" she returned, her head tilting questioningly.

"She's got a point," Jack added, unhelpfully.

Daniel huffed out a frustrated breath, but couldn't deny Leesia's logic. If she didn't trust the man, for whatever the reason, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for her to open up and gain any kind of assistance, but what other choice was there?

"You need help with this, Lees," he said gently. "This isn't something that is going to go away if we ignore it."

"You will help me."

Daniel's lashes fluttered like crazy in shock. "W-what?" he stammered, unsure he had heard her right.

"You will help me," she repeated, slower this time.

"I'm not a physiatrist."

"But you are a doctor," she argued.

"Of Archaeology."

"And Anthropology," Leesia countered, "The study of human behaviour."

"It's not the same thing."

"It is close enough. Beside I do not see what other choice we have. Unless... unless you do not wish to," she added sadly, sounding suddenly very unsure.

"It's not that. I just, I don't know what I'm doing. I could make things worse," he said cautiously.

"You won't."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do," she said looking up at him sincerely. "You helped me once before. When no one else would. You knew every detail and you never judged, despite who I was, who I used to be...what I had done, what had been done, every moment of weakness, you knew it all and I never felt anything but love, acceptance and understanding from you."

Daniel dropped his chin onto his chest to hide his blush; of course she would view it that way. She only ever saw the good in him, she never saw any of his flaws. In this case, however, he was more part of the problem than part of the solution.

"Things are different now," he said, his embarrassed hesitance quieting his voice to barely more than a whisper, "after what I did, I -"

"Daniel," Leesia softly interrupted before his speech could turn into a downward spiral of guilt she saw it heading. "You are the only one I trust. Please, please help me. I do not want to be like this... When I was in your arms, Daniel - when you held me, I knew with absolute certainty that I was the most adored woman in the Galaxy," she gazed up at him forlornly, tears welling in her eyes, "I want that feeling back."

"Okay," he breathed, weakened by her tears and longing to be able to wrap his arms around her as she clearly needed every bit as much as he did. "We'll get through this, together."

"Together," she echoed.

...

"I've been looking for you," Sam said, coming to a startled stop as she nearly collided with Jack, who emerged too quickly and near silently from Daniel's lab.

Jack held his arms wide and grinned. "Mission accomplished."

"You weren't in your office."

"Been tryin' to avoid it," Jack explained, "Balinsky keeps loitering around down there with a case full of rocks."

"You mean the mineral and fossil samples from P2Y-720?" Sam asked as the pair headed down the corridor together.

"Possibly, but to me it's just gray rock, bigger gray rock, smaller gray rock, gray rock with bits in, teeny tiny..." Seeing the troubled look Sam was wearing, Jack stopped himself. "What's up?"

"SG-7 came in hot."

"Don't tell me," he groaned out, " Replicators?"

Sam nodded gravely. "Ourselves included, that's the seventh team to encounter them in three days."

"What in God's name is going on out there? It's like a damn infestation,"

"Considering it all within our Galaxy, I'd say more of an invasion. The question is; Why?" Sam replied, as they reached the elevator and she jabbed at the call button.

"I'm assuming you have a theory," Jack said, noticing that twinkle in Sam's eye he had long since come to recognize. She had a idea, and knowing Carter if would be one he would barely be able to keep up with.

Jack waited until the elevator doors had slid closed and Sam pressed the button for level 27. '_Did I not just tell her I was trying to avoid that place?_' he pondered, keeping it to himself so to not be on the receiving end of another lecture about the importance of things he didn't really think were important. Trapped inside with the genius, and heading where he didn't really want to be heading, he had little choice but to ask and just pray he got at least the gist of her explanation.

"Okay, let's have it, but bear in mind that I may need you to repeat this. Possibly a few times. Slowly, and with flashcards." Jack joked, falling silent, knowing he was going to need to concentrate on this closely.

"Well, as you know Replicators replicate by consuming raw material, the more advanced the material the stronger the Replicators that are produce, because of this they are instinctually driven to seek out new energy sources and advance technologies."

"Yes. That I knew," Jack replied tonelessly.

"So at first I assumed that there must be some technology or power source within our galaxy that we're unaware of and they have somehow found out about, but that doesn't fit with their current behaviour."

"What d'ya mean?" he asked, as the pair exited the elevator and headed down the corridor in the direction of the briefing room and dreaded office.

"They're attacking. Up until now we've only known Replicator to attack when threatened or if they sense an advance technology source, but each and every team that have reported encounters all state that they were the target of an unprovoked attack, so neither was the case." Sam continued as they entered the briefing room, Jack following, thankful that the coast was clear and heading straight for the coffee machine.

"Meaning?" he asked, pouring out the longed for liquid, already knowing he would need more than one to get through the morning, especially seeing as Daniel had so kindly polished off his first one for him.

"If we're being deliberately targeted, logically speaking there's only two explanations; they're either perceiving us as a threat or a food source."

"Ew," Jack said screwing his face up and handing Sam her coffee he'd made to spec.

"The later we can obviously dismiss, so that only leave that they've started seeing us as a threat."

"Why now all of a sudden?"

"I have no idea, but I did find this curious," Sam continued, directing Jack over to the transparent starmap. She waved her hand over a cluster of dots indicating the ones in question. "These are the planets that we know have been targeted, and right in the heart of them..."

"The Alpha site," Jack finished, "But they haven't gone for the Alpha site."

"That's what I found curious. It's almost like they're establishing an expanding search perimeter, so why would they avoid the most obvious place to find us?"

"You're asking _me_?"

"I'm just thinking aloud," Sam answered. "I took the liberty of contacting Thor, by the way. Maybe he can shed some light on the situation."

"Good thinking. We've saved their little gray butts enough times for them to owe us a favour in return."

"So, how did Leesia's evaluation go?" Sam asked hopefully.

"Well, I think it's safe to assume that The Avengers is gonna be the Fantastic Four for a while."

Sam stared at him blankly over the top of her mug, then shrugged. "I was a DC girl."

"Figures," Jack grumbled.

"So it didn't go well?"

"She walked out halfway through the session," Jack explained, "with some choice words to say about McKenzies intelligence."

"Ouch," Sam winced. With the Galaxy quickly filling up with Replicators and Leesia ability having an effect on the mechanical bugs, now was the worst possible timing for Leesia to be grounded, so Sam had been really hoping the evaluation would go well. Well enough for Janet to reconsider Leesia's enforced stand-down. The Doctor would be reluctant to revoke her ban on the former Ancients off-world travel as it was, without a glowing evaluation that slight chance was even slimmer.

"So, no chance of Janet changing her mind then?"

Jack dropped an eyebrow, his expression clearly saying 'you really have to ask?'.

Sam huffed, took a sip of her perfectly made coffee, then sighed out sadly, "I've got a feeling we're really going to need her out there."

"If anyone can get Janet to change her decision, you can."

**...**

"I'm sorry Sam, but my answer is still no," Janet told the taller woman firmly, as she was persistently followed down the hallway towards the infirmary.

"She's refused any help from anyone other than Daniel, but Daniel is not a psychiatrist," Janet reminded, giving Sam a pointed look out of the corner of her eye, "and neither am I. Now I've given him some material on haphephobia to research through and he's promised to keep detailed notes on any of her progress, so we'll be working together to help her, but until I am certain her condition poses no threat to either herself or other member of the team she has to remain Earth bound, for everyones safety."

"Janet, Leesia's ability had an effect on the replicators. We may need her out there," Sam insisted, unperturbed by the doctors reluctance to be swayed.

"So you and General O'Neill have told me, repeatedly, but that doesn't change the fact that at present she is not fit for gate travel. Besides, I read the report. The effect only lasted a few seconds and Leesia doesn't even believe she could do it again."

"That is why now is the perfect time to try. Her ability has always had a direct link to her emotional state."

"I'm sorry Sam, but it simply is not a good enough reason to be worth the risk. If she has an attack off world it could endanger the whole team."

"What if we were prepared to take that risk?"

"Sam." the doctor warned, her patience waning.

"I'm serious."

"I know you are, that's what worries me."

**...**

"How's that?" Daniel asked, closely watching Leesia's reaction as he gently wrapped his long fingers around her ankle.

He had done his best to create a calming atmosphere in their living room; He'd dimmed the lights, lit candles and put on some relaxing music in the background. Anything he could do to make this easier on her. Under normal circumstances it would be romantic, but this was anything but, and despite his best efforts it was stressing her, he could see it clearly.

Sitting beside him on their couch, with her legs drawn up, Leesia trembled, staring down at his hand lightly gripping her ankle.

"Fine," she gasped out, her voice noticeably higher, betraying her forced bravery, as did the suddenly skipping CD.

"Lees, if this is going to work you have to be honest with me," he insisted softly. "One to ten?"

"Four," she told him adamantly, though the tremble remained.

Together they had researched every therapy, treatment and remedy they could find on haphephobia and she had decided on this; Exposure therapy. Repeated exposure to her fear until she became desensitised to it, starting with where she feared touch the lease and working their way up to the most. To her, it sounded like the best option, it would fulfil her need to work on it and keep herself moving forward toward overcoming her phobia. To Daniel, however, it seemed nothing short of cruel and it was only her desperate pleading and determined attitude that had made him agree to it in the first place.

So that was the plan, but before they could start he needed a step by step guide, a body map as it were, starting with her least stressful area and working up to her most to work on. Unfortunately, the only way that he could get that was to test it.

"Okay," he said gently, as he grazed his hand up to just below her knee, "and now?"

"Still f-four," she stammered out, her trembling increasing.

"Do you want me to stop?"

She swallowed hard, but shook her head, "No."

He moved his hand a little higher, coming to rest on her lower thigh. "Okay, now?"

"Five," she told him, with a quiver.

Quickly removing his hand, Daniel sat back and jotted down his findings, taking his time so she had chance to regroup and slow her panicked breathing. He had expected this to be hard on her, but what he hadn't thought to consider was how hard it would be for him. Repeatedly having to see her fear brightly in her beautifully soulful eyes each time he laid his hand on her. It was torturous, making his insides squirm restlessly, especially knowing it must be all the worse for her. But he was doing it her way, going along with her wishes, following the book. All the while wishing, hoping that she would reconsider a lesser option and fighting to keep his own turmoil hidden so not to upset her further.

When she seemed calm, or at least considerably calmer, he gently took her little hand in his own.

"How's that?"

"Two," she told him, sounding relieved and even a little happy.

Smiling proudly, he grazed his thumb over her knuckles.

"Three!" she upgraded, Daniel ceasing his subtle movement immediately.

"Sorry," he said, making a mental note to not do that again and backing off to let her recover from the shock.

"It is not your fault," she reassured him, breathing deeply like he had taught her.

"Is there anything else I should avoid?"

She paused for a second, then took an uneasy swallow.

"My throat," she said looking away to avoid the hurt look she knew he would be wearing.

She was right. He licked his lips awkwardly, guessing the reason and her avoidance confirmed it to him. During the attack it had been by her throat that he had pinned her to the floor.

"Okay then, uh well, we'll just put that down as a ten," he told her, marking it down on his notes.

"Daniel?" she called softly, drawing his attention back to her face. She saw the pain in his baby blues, the sorrowful guilt he was unsuccessfully trying to mask.

"This is not your fault," she told him, her soft tone in no way diminishing the seriousness of her words. "This is because of something that was done to me thousands of years before you were born. Do not put false blame upon yourself."

He offered her a small smile of reassurance, though he didn't feel it for himself, he wasn't about to let his own feelings on the matter hinder her recovery. Right now she needed his strength.

He cleared his throat. "Are we done for the night?"

She thought for a second. "No, let us finish. Get it over with," she told him bravely, forcing a smile.

"Okay," he said, a little disappointed, a part of him wishing she wouldn't push herself, another agreeing that it was better over and done with so they could move on.

He slowly, giving her time to prepare, reached to her and grasped her shoulder.

"Three," she told him, near immediately. A lower number than he, or either of them, had expected and they shared a hopefully promising smile.

He avoided her throat, as warned, instead moving up to tenderly cup her cheek. Her breathing instantly hitched the second his hand came into contact with her skin and she jerked her head away, her eyes tightly closed, trembling hard.

"We can stop," he offered, near pleading with her, his hand still hovering in mid air.

She screwed her face up in misery, shaking her head. "No," she said adamantly, gritting her teeth to hide the tremble, "we carry on."

Leesia's shoulders rose and fell as she took a slow, calming breath and then set. With stubborn determination on her face she moved back into his touch.

"Eight! Eight!" she cried out, scrambling away from him, curling in on herself until she became a small quivering ball on the far side of their couch.

"Okay, we're stopping," he told her firmly, sliding further away, wishing he could shift in the opposite direction and comfort her as he normally would.

"No," she gasped, jerking her head up, her eyes pooling with moisture.

"Leesia, if we go too far too fast it could make things worse," he reasoned.

"How?" she asked desperately, the threatening tears starting to fall. "How could it get any worse than this?"

"Please don't cry, Lees," Daniel pleaded, sliding back as close as he dared. This was the worse part of her phobia in his opinion: seeing the misery so evident in her and not being able to do anything about it. Not being able to hold her, comfort her, knowing it would only make her fear all the worse. There was simply nothing he could do but helplessly watch her suffer.

"Just give it time. We'll get through this. You just have to be patient."

Quickly she snatched hold of his hand. "No." She took a deep steadying breath. "We carry on."

He took in her determined expression, not diminished by either her fear or tears, her heaving breaths, her wide eyes nor the tensed set of her bunched muscles. As much as he hated doing it, it was ultimately her decision.

"Okay," he agreed softly and she dropped her tight grip, "but listen, you're in charge. We stop when you say and only go as far as you want."

She nodded slowly, showing her understanding and appreciation, and readied herself for his next touch.

Daniel hesitated, debating where to try next. He still had thigh, hip, upper chest and stomach on his list. Her leg had got a higher rating than her shoulder had, and that pushed him towards the upper chest, yet he worried that was too close to the throat for her to handle.

Decision made, he lightly wrapped his fingers around the side of her hip.

Her breath caught in her throat.

"Number, Lees."

"Eight," she cried out immediately.

"Okay, easy." He backed away with his hands raised. He was hating this. "It's okay, Lees. It's okay. I'm right here, I'm- I'm not going to hurt you," he said sadly. That was a sentence no husband should ever have to say to his wife.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, hating himself he back even further away.

"No, I am," she echoed back, her voice thick with new tears and shacky. The only thing stronger than her fear at that moment was the look on his face that was breaking her heart and without even thinking she reached out for him. Tenderly taking his head in both her hands, she gently forced him to look at her. He met her soulful look with stunned wide eyes.

"Listen to me Daniel," she said seriously, her eyes flitting back and forth from either of his, as if searching to see if her message was getting through to him.

"This is not your doing. This is not your fault. You could neither predict it, nor spare me from it. I do not want to hear you are sorry. You have nothing to apologise for."

With his jaw parted and eyes widened in happy surprise, Daniel blinked rapidly, waiting for her to finish and realise just what she was doing.

"I'm sorry I am not stronger for you. But you cannot pity either of us if -"

Taking in his surprising change of expression, Leesia paused, frowning.

"What?"

"Lees," he gasped out through a half laugh, half sob, "you're touching me."

With a sharp intake of breath, Leesia's eyes jumped back and forth between both her own hands, softly cushioning his lightly stubbled cheeks. A shocked yet joyful smile tugged her lips up, freeing new tears she hadn't realised were welling. Almost unable to believe it, she glided her thumb softly over his parted lips. She was. She was touching him.

"Number, Lees?"

"Zero," she told him, her tear twinkling eyes dancing in joyous hope. "Zero."

**...**

Daniel had been brushing his teeth for seven minutes. Not that he was actually brushing them, no, he merely held the toothbrush loosely in his lax mouth, while staring transfixed at the reflection in the bathroom mirror over his shoulder.

Behind him, through the orange blossom scented steam and lightly misted shower screen, Leesia worked the shampoo into a lather, the resulting foam washed languidly down her smooth naked curves. Daniel hungrily followed the movement of each and every bubble with rapped attention.

Yet the tantalizing body in his sights and so close to his reach may as well have had a warning sticker upon it: Look but don't touch!

For the second night running, Daniel had slept beside her, just out of reach. The thought that the last time he had held her was during the attack weighed heavily on his mind, and heart, and right now there was nothing he wanted more than to rentch open that screen door and take comfort in her arms...And more.

She was able to touch him, he reminded himself. That was something. It wasn't a solution, and her phobia was still highly present whenever he laid his hands on her, but it was more than he had dared hope for at this early stage.

'_Never thought I'd be jealous of shampoo,_' he thought, as she moved under the hot spray and began rinsing the bubbles from her silky hair.

As her hands followed the suds down her throat and over her breasts, the toothbrush clattered noisily into the sink and Daniel dashed from the bathroom before he could be spotted by the subject of his fixed lustful attention.

As soon as she was done in there he was gonna need a shower himself - a cold one.

**...**

Daniel was not liking this, and judging by the pitiful expression Leesia was wearing, neither was his wife. So he kept his eyes on his notes as much as possible, only looking up every so often, and over the top of his glasses so to avoid the crystal clarity the lenses provided.

He didn't want to see the view in front of him. Unable to avoid it entirely, he settled for minimal and fuzzy.

He coughed, clearing his throat and consulting his list. "Um, shoulder," he instructed, keeping his eyes down, but out of his peripheral vision he saw Teal'c once again closed in on Leesia, his huge stature making her look all the more tiny in comparison.

With his self-enforced restricted view, Daniel listened for any sounds of distress; a gasp, a whimper, a sob or, god help him, a cry, but none came.

"How's that?" he asked, daring another brief peek.

"Fine," Leesia replied, for the third time in a row and Teal'c let go of his gentle grip on her left shoulder, awaiting his next instruction.

It had been Sam's idea. She had proposed the theory that if her phobia only presented itself when Daniel touched her and not the other way round, she might be okay with others touching her. Daniel hadn't liked the idea and was more than a little reluctant to test it, she was pushing herself too far too fast as it was in his opinion, but once again Leesia had overruled him, insisting that she wanted to at least try. Despite his intense presence, Teal'c had been the perfect guinea-pig. Leesia trusted the Jaffa, who on occasions had taken it upon himself to protect her.

"Uh, waist?" Daniel suggested awkwardly. Leesia nodded in agreement and Teal'c gently wrapped his fingers around her side.

She raised her arms to look down at the large hand that held her just above her left hip bone. Even though his touch was light, she could feel the potential power within his grip. If he were to squeeze she knew it would pain her. Yet, she felt no fear at all.

"Fine," she said, once again.

"Okay, um, neck?" he suggested carefully, asking permission. It was the big one. The real test to see if she was really as fine as she was claiming to be.

She sort her husband's worried eyes and nodded nervously not trusting her voice, then repeated the gesture to the cautious looking Jaffa.

Permission to continue granted, Teal'c watched the former Ancient carefully as he slowly raised his hand towards her throat. The nervousness to her posture, that had been so evident at the start, but had disappeared as they had continued to get positive results, was back in full force. So he took his time, giving her every chance to back away or refuse, until he ever so gently wrapped his fingers around her neck.

He kept his hold just long enough for her to have a reaction if she was going to, and then let his hand fall away.

"How was that?" Daniel asked curiously, he hadn't seen or heard a reaction from her, but he had to be sure.

"Fine," she said once again, wiping the perspiration from her palms on her pants.

"Okay, um, well, Thank you, Teal'c," Daniel stammered, not knowing what else to say. The results were better than any of them had expected, yet it left a cold feeling in his gut.

With his minute bow, Teal'c left.

"Well that's good. It's good. We should probably check it out with someones else to be sure, but if it's just me then Janet might be able to resume you to active duty and if Sam's right we're gonna need you and-"

"It is terrible, Daniel." Leesia grumbled with a pout. "It is only your touch that I'm concerned with."

"We'll get through it," he told her softly, stopping himself midstep from wrapping his arms around her. He offered her his head instead, which she readily took, her breathing quickening as she did, but she held on tightly nonetheless.

**...**

"Janet, I want to discuss Leesia's removal from active duty."

The Doctor sighed irritatedly, pushed her keyboard out of the way and looked up at Jack who stood casually leaning on the doorframe to her office, the picture of nonchalance.

"If this is about her phobia only occuring when she is touched and not the other way around, I know, Daniel has already informed me and it doesn't change my mind."

"Her phobia only shows with Daniel, period."

"What are you talking about, Colonel?" Janet asked, frowning in confusion.

"Leesia. She's been tested with Teal'c, myself, Sam, Mitchell, even Walter, same results each time. It's only Daniel she reacts to."

"Well, that's...unusual."

"What isn't round here?" Jack agreed flippantly, "So, what I was thinking is; if they're not on the same team will you allow her off-world?"

"You mean, putting her on a different team?" Janet questioned.

"Actually," Jack said, folding his arms, "I'm gonna pull Daniel from SG-1."

**...**

"You can't do this," Daniel announced, storming into Jack's office as if he owned it.

Jack relaxed back in his chair and interlocked his fingers, brought them up to cradle the back of his head. He had been expecting this reaction.

"Hi, Daniel. Why don't you come in. Take a seat."

Too mad to acknowledge Jack's snark, Daniel started ranted.

"I know that Sam believes that we're gonna need Leesia on this mission, but we don't even know if her abilities will work a second time around, and I seriously doubt she ready for anything like this now, especially on this magnitude. Besides, we don't know why the Replicators have even come here in the first place, we don't know anything, not for sure. We should be looking into that rather than rushing into things half blind."

The General looked back at him in patient silence, unmoved. Daniel sighed inwardly to himself and try a different approach.

"Jack, listen, you can't sideline me-"

"You're not being sideline, you're joining SG-10."

"You can't sideline me from SG-1," Daniel clarified.

"It's only temporary, and it was the only way to get Leesia cleared for active duty."

"Jack, that's not the point. She can't, I mean, without me, I-" Daniel stammered, having no clue whatsoever how to put all his thoughts and concerns into words.

Jack leaned forward in his chair, pointedly looking Daniel straight in the eye.

"You remember that you're a civilian, right?" he said in a low whisper, "Can't be court-martialed for not following orders."

Daniel stared at him blankly, shocked. '_He can't mean that... Did he plan this? He wants me to..._'

Before he could voice any of his questions, however, a flash of light from behind him and an unmistakable hum, interrupted him, followed by a familiar flowy alien voice.

"Greetings O'Neill, Doctor Jackson."

Jack beamed at the tiny green alien over the stunned Archaeologists shoulder.

"Thor, Buddy, glad you could make it."

**...**

A.N - Please review. Positive comments spur me forwards and criticisms help me improve the story, so all comments are welcome, wanted and appreciated. Thanks in advance. :)


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